A chess club like no other

Aliwal Chess Club finds unorthodox ways to make the game accessible to everyone

- Mark Cheong

In a dimly lit back alley along Aliwal Street, people are sitting on the ground, chatting and drinking teh tarik. A Bluetooth speaker has been set up, and a song from 80s rock band The Smiths flows out of it, startling a ginger cat walking by.

A party? Not really. Welcome to a typically atypical chess meet-up of the Aliwal Chess Club (ACC).

While back alleys and music are not normally associated with chess, they both feature regularly in ACC meet-ups.

This particular one on Nov 20 celebrated the third anniversary of the club, which takes its name from the area where a group of like-minded friends like to get together and relax.

"We were just a bunch of friends who loved to drink teh (tea) and hang out in the Aliwal Street area, when we realised that most of us played chess," said 25-year-old club founder Hirfan Romzi.

In 2021, the six or seven friends, all in their early 20s, started taking their chess boards to their preferred hangout spots in Sultan Gate a couple of times a month, attracting curious passers-by.