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One of the most vibrant spots on a Tuesday night in the East End's Brick Lane isn't a restaurant or a streetwear label temporary shop, it's a chess gathering – or rather a chess and nightlife combination, precisely speaking.

This unique venue represents the unlikely crossover between the classic game and the city's dynamic evening entertainment scene. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 27, who began his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, not too far from the current location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“My goal was to create chess clubs for people who look like me and those my generation,” he explained. “Usually, chess is only put in spaces that are full of senior individuals, which isn't inclusive enough.”

Initially, there were just eight boards shared by 16 people. Today, a “good night” at the regular club event will draw approximately two hundred eighty attendees.

Upon arrival, the venue feels closer to a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are flowing and tunes is playing, but the game boards on each table aren't just ornamental or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and encircled by a line of spectators eagerly anticipating for their turn.

One regular, 24, has been attending the club regularly for the past four months. “I had little understanding of chess prior to I came here, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game with a expert player. That was a quick victory, but it left me intrigued to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about 50% social and 50% participants genuinely wanting to engage in chess … It is a nice way to decompress, which avoids visiting a club to see other people my age.”

An Activity Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Modern Age

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the societal spirit of the times. The popularity of digital chess expanded rapidly throughout the global health crisis, making it one of the most rapidly expanding internet pastimes globally. In popular culture, the streaming series a hit show, along with the author's recent novel a literary work, have created a certain iconography surrounding the sport, which has drawn in a fresh generation of players.

However a great deal of this recent attraction of the chess club is not necessarily about the intricacies of the game; rather, it is the ease of social interaction that it facilitates, by taking a chair and playing with someone who may be a total unknown individual.

“It is a great clever disguise,” remarked one organizer, co-founder of a local venue in the city, a bookshop, reading room, cafe and lounge, which has organized a popular chess club every Wednesday since it opened four years ago. His aim is to “remove chess off a pedestal and make it feel similar to pool in a dive bar”.

“It's a very simple vehicle to meet people. It somewhat removes the pressure of the need of conversation away from interacting with people. One can handle the awkward bit of making an introduction and talking to someone over a board instead of with no kind of context around it.”

Growing the Community: Social Gatherings Outside London

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a recurring chess night held at a city cafe, near the city centre. “We found that individuals are looking for spaces where you can go out, interact and have a good time outside of going to a pub or nightclub,” stated its founder and coordinator, Karan Singh, 21.

Alongside his friend Abdirahim Haji, also young, he bought chessboards, printed promotional materials and started the chess club in the start of the year, during his last year of college. In less than a year, he said Chesscafé has expanded to attract over 100 young participants to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a particular connotation to it, about it being quiet. We really try to go the opposite way; it's a convivial party with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Discovering and Playing: An Alternative Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the activity. One participant, in her late twenties, is picking up how to play chess with other visitors of chess night at Reference Point. Her interest in the pastime was piqued after an enjoyable evening dancing and playing chess at a previous the club's events.

“It is a unique idea, but it functions well,” she commented. “It encourages in-person interactions rather than screen-based activities. It is a free third space to encounter strangers. It's inviting, you don't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia humorously likened the trendiness of chess with young people to the facade of the “performative male”, an attempt to simulate intellectualism while signaling the appearance of “coolness”. If the chess trend has fostered a genuine interest in the sport isn't something she's entirely convinced by. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s largely a fad,” she said. “Once you compete against opponents who are really dedicated about it, it quickly becomes less enjoyable.”

Competitive Gaming and Togetherness

It may seem like a bit of fun and games for individuals aiming to use a chessboard as a social vehicle, but competitive participants do have their role, albeit away from the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, 22, who assists in organise the club,says that more competitive attenders have formed a league table. “Participants who are part of the competition will play one another, we'll go to early rounds, semi-finals, and then we'll eventually have a league winner.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a competitive player and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a twelve months and participates at the club almost weekly. “This is a nice alternative to engaging in serious chess; it gives a feeling of belonging,” he said.

“It is interesting to observe how it evolves into increasingly a communal pastime, because in the past the only individuals who played chess were people who didn't socialize; they just stayed home. It's typically only two people competing on a chessboard …

“The thing I like about here is that one isn't really facing the digital opponent, you're engaging with live opponents.”