‘It’s self-consciously cool’: Inside the chess club boom

It’s a Friday night in Lisbon’s Marvilla district, and there’s a queue piling up outside Pieces Chess Club – a mashup of social chess and music – for their first anniversary block party. Outside the repurposed factory that houses taco and music venue Duro de Matar, rows of chess games are already underway under a blaze of neon red. Dance-ready beats are blaring, a DJ setup and packed dancefloor at the centre of the chequered sprawl. Margaritas and beers are flowing thick and fast; this is not one of those sober, ‘board games night’ type of events – it’s a veritable night out. 

In the last year or so, chess has had a major rebrand. Once confined to hushed rooms and town halls, the game has broken out of its box into more high-energy social spaces. I’ve noticed a growing number of portable boards brought out to parks and bars for a casual play with friends, as well as chessboards popping up on Instagram stories. Celebrities are getting in on the action too: Tyler, the Creator has been sharing chess content online and recently launched a ‘chess box’ collaboration with Louis Vuitton, an indication of the game’s growing social and cultural capital. And with events like Pieces and Knight Club (a similar London-based music-chess hybrid night), chess is increasingly cultivating a diverse, fashionable scene. It’s no exaggeration at this point to say that chess, once regarded as a pretty geeky hobby, has become cool. 

The crowd at Pieces – which has thrown events from London to Oslo and Berlin – certainly think so. “It's become kind of trendy to play chess,” Alyssa, 24, tells me over the music. She explains that she “taught the girls [to play] chess”, bringing her group up to speed on the ancient game. “I think it’s cool,” Yana, 23, concurs. “Especially with events like this, it really shows the diversity of people who are interested in chess.”

So interested, it seems, that I find it hard to get in a game – the fight for a chessboard at Pieces is real. Even on a cold night like tonight, “the dedication to chess is strong,” notes one of the founders, Charlie Yaw. The trick is to find a game nearing checkmate and pounce. I’m with a friend, and we spot our opportunity, snagging a board amidst a table of other chess games in full swing. Most people here are casual chess players, with a smattering of serious players in the mix, chess timer apps on the go. Then there are the non-chess players, caught between the smoking area and the dancefloor, here for the music and the scene of it all. “Chess is kind of boring,” one woman even tells me. But she’s still here, thanks to Pieces’ growing hype. It really does feel like this is the place to be in Lisbon tonight – I start bumping into more and more people I know as I push my way through the crowd to get a drink post-game. 

Growing up, I only saw a few types of people play chess, but coming to these types of events, I’m like, ‘okay, they’re welcoming everyone, anyone can play’

On the lineup tonight are Jossy Mitsu, Gayance, and a smattering of other up-and-coming DJs, with sounds from garage to jungle and house creating a high-energy atmosphere. It’s music to dance to. “We wanted to create this juxtaposition between the game and the energy of the music outside of it,” says Charlie. “When you add that energy and that sound, it allows more playfulness”. Pieces’ Instagram draws heavily on cultural references too, from Wu-Tang Clan to PinkPantheress; it’s something of a visual archive of chess through pop culture and memes present and past, tapping into the game’s cult status (it also helps that a chessboards are generally beautifully designed). “We want to try to make people feel like they can connect with [chess] in other ways, whether that’s through music and culture, or through just understanding that it’s not that deep, really,” says Charlie. 

A big appeal for people here tonight is the vibe Pieces have created around the game, and the diverse space that atmosphere has fostered. “I think growing up, I only saw a few types of people play chess, but coming to these types of events, I’m like, OK, ‘they’re welcoming everyone, anyone can play’,” says Yana.

For Charlie, the idea for Pieces, and a more accessible chess space, really came to fruition following a negative experience. “I’d gone to a chess club that started close to my house. [...] I’d never thought I’d be the person who would go to a chess club, really. And I went, and I tried it, and I didn’t enjoy it at all,” she recalls. “It was a really bad experience. Everyone was really serious about the game, and it was just mostly old white men. I played about three games, got completely destroyed and then no one would play with me.” Cofounder An-Tim Nguyen adds: “They’re so intimidating, these spaces, and they’re too serious.” It’s not the first I’ve heard of chess club trauma; Josh, 35, whose “Elo in rapid is about 1200,” tells me of another club in Lisbon: “I think the guy who runs it doesn’t create a very welcoming or inclusive place [...] Somebody needs to stop them.” 

There is something that really works about having a focused game to play amid the music. It breaks up the night, creating different rhythms of interaction, bopping between dancefloor and the absorption of a play. And I’m not alone in enjoying the concentration that chess demands. “I think that the fact that chess is tactile and requires attention is a very nice antidote to scrolling on your phone,” says Josh. “When you play chess, you actually have to learn how to play it,” Millad tells me. There’s a sincerity to the game, he says, and “people are becoming more sincere and appreciating sincerity more”. 

The more focused, intellectual hobby is increasingly also something of a status symbol. “I think it’s become a bit self-consciously cool, hasn’t it?” notes Josh. Chess demands a healthy attention span – an increasingly sought-after trait in a smartphone-addicted world. “I think it is naturally an attractive quality in somebody else to see that they’ve invested time in becoming really good at something,” says Millad. Sometimes this comes with some pretension and one-upping; during my next game, mid-play, a man lingers to watch, leans over my shoulder post-move and utters, “Oh, I wouldn’t do that”. Mansplainers get everywhere, it seems.

But overall, I’m a firm believer that the reappreciation of such pastimes is a great thing. Spaces such as Pieces, which clearly have all the right intentions: in the last year, they’ve raised £15,000 for charity, created a culturally vibrant chess scene in a number of cities, and no doubt brought in scores of new players to the game. I’ll be there for the next one – what’s not to love?