The Taliban administration has banned the game of chess throughout Afghanistan based on religious objections and its association with gambling, which is forbidden under the laws of morality of the nation.
This was established by Atal Mashwani, the sports directorate spokesman of the Taliban, on Sunday.
Chess under sharia (Islamic law) is regarded as a method of gambling,” Mashwani explained, referring to the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice law launched last year. “There are religious concerns towards the game of chess. Until these concerns are resolved, the game of chess is halted in Afghanistan,” he continued.
Since coming to power in 2021, the Taliban has incrementally imposed restrictions in line with its hardline interpretation of Islamic law, including on sports. The national chess federation, Mashwani said, has not held any official events in the last two years and has experienced “some issues on the leadership level”.
Azizullah Gulzada, who runs a café in Kabul where his venue has served as a haunt for recreational chess players, was disappointed with the ban. He discounted any allegations of gambling having been conducted in his café and noted that the game is widely practiced in other Muslim countries. “There are players from many other Islamic countries at an international level,” he said to AFP.
Gulzada admitted he would abide by the ruling but insisted on its negative effect. “Young people do not have many activities nowadays, so many came here every day,” he said. “They would drink a cup of tea and challenge their friends to play chess.”
This is not the first time the Taliban has banned sports. The authorities have already banned a number of other sporting activities, especially for women, who are now largely barred from engaging in sports. In 2023, the government also banned professional combat sports such as mixed martial arts (MMA), deeming them as “too violent” and incompatible with sharia principles.