Cocktails & Chess Victories: These Youthful Britons Giving The Game a Fresh Lease of Life

Among the liveliest spots on a Tuesday night in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a restaurant or a streetwear brand pop-up, it's a chess club – or rather a chess and nightlife hybrid, precisely speaking.

This unique venue embodies the surprising blend between chess and the city's fervent nightlife scene. It was started by a young entrepreneur, in his late twenties, who began his first chess club in August 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the current location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to make chess clubs for people who share my background and those my age,” he explained. “Usually, chess is only put in spaces that are full of older people, which is not inclusive enough.”

Initially, there were just 8 boards between 16 people. Today, a “successful evening” at the weekly Knight Club will draw about two hundred eighty people.

Upon arrival, Knight Club seems closer to a music night than a chess club. Mixed drinks are flowing and tunes is playing, but the chessboards on each table are not just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all in use and encircled by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their turn.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has been attending the club regularly for the past several months. “I had little understanding of chess before my first visit, and the first time I tried it, I competed in a game with a grandmaster. It was a quick win, but it left me intrigued to learn and keep playing chess,” she said.

“The event is about half networking and half participants genuinely wanting to play chess … It is a nice way to relax, which avoids visiting a typical nightspot to meet others my age.”

A Game Reborn: Chess in the Modern Era

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the cultural spirit of the times. The popularity of digital chess proliferated during the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing internet pastimes in the world. In popular culture, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as Sally Rooney’s latest novel Intermezzo, have crafted a distinct imagery associated with the game, which has drawn in a fresh generation of enthusiasts.

But a great deal of this recent appeal of the chess night is not always about the intricacies of the play; instead, it is the ease of connecting with others that it enables, by taking a seat and engaging with a person who could be a complete unknown individual.

“It's a brilliant clever disguise,” said one organizer, founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookstore, reading room, cafe and bar, which has organized a popular chess club every Wednesday since it began four years ago. Freud’s objective is to “remove chess from its elite status and make it feel similar to pool in a casual pub”.

“It is a really easy vehicle to get to know people. It kind of removes the weight of the need of conversation from interacting with people. You can handle the uncomfortable part of making an introduction and chatting to a new acquaintance over a game rather than with no shared activity around it.”

Growing the Network: Social Gatherings Beyond London

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a regular chess event taking place at York’s Cafe, just outside the city centre. “Our observation was that individuals are seeking spaces where you can go out, interact and have a good time beyond going to a pub or club,” said its creator and organiser, a young leader, in his early twenties.

Together with his friend a partner, also young, he bought game sets, created flyers and started the chess club in the start of the year, while in his final year of college. Within months, he reported Chesscafé has expanded to attract over one hundred young participants to its events.

“A chess club has a particular connotation to it, about it seeming quiet. Our approach is to go the contrary direction; it is a convivial party with chess as part of it,” he said.

Learning and Engaging: An Alternative Generation of Players

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. One participant, in her late twenties, is learning how to participate in chess with fellow visitors of chess night at the venue. She became curious in the pastime was sparked after an enjoyable night dancing and playing chess at one of the club's occasions.

“It is a strange concept, but it functions well,” she commented. “It promotes in-person interactions instead of digital activities. It is a no-cost neutral ground to encounter strangers. It is welcoming, one doesn't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

Kezia jokingly likened the popularity of chess with the youth to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to feign intellectualism while projecting the veneer of “hipness”. Whether the chess trend has cultivated a authentic passion in the game isn't something she is entirely convinced by. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a trend,” she observed. “When you compete against opponents who are truly serious about it, it rapidly becomes less fun.”

Competitive Gaming and Community

It might seem like a bit of lighthearted activity for individuals aiming to use a chessboard as a social vehicle, but competitive players do have their role, even if off the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, 22, who helps organise the club,says that more skilled players have formed a competitive ranking. “Participants who are in the league will play each other, we will progress to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we'll eventually have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a competitive player and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a year and participates at the club almost weekly. “This is a nice option to playing intense chess; it provides a sense of community,” he said.

“It's fascinating to see how it becomes increasingly a social activity, because previously the sole people who engaged in chess were people who didn't socialize; they simply stayed home. It is typically only a pair competing on a game board …

“The thing I like about here is that you're not really playing against the digital opponent, you're facing real people.”