Taliban bans chess in Afghanistan, claims it promotes gambling

Militant organisation, the Taliban, has banned chess across Afghanistan on the claim that the game is a source of gambling, which is illegal under the government’s morality law. The Taliban has been governing Afghanistan since 2021.

“Chess in sharia (Islamic law) is considered a means of gambling,” Atal Mashwani, spokesperson of the sports directorate, was quoted by news agency AFP. “There are religious considerations regarding the sport of chess. Until these considerations are addressed, the sport of chess is suspended in Afghanistan,” he said.

The Taliban has imposed restrictions women’s participation in almost every sporting event. Last year, the authorities also banned free fighting activities such as mixed martial arts (MMA), claiming it was too violent and problematic.

Mashwani claimed that the Afghanisation national chess federation has not held any official events for around two years and "had some issues on the leadership level". The Afghanistan National Chess Federation was established in 1984 and it became a member of FIDE, the World Chess body in 1988. Several Islamic countries have players on an international level.

According to the FIDE website, Hameeedullah Haidary (2163) is the highest-rated male Afghan player, while 26-year-old Zahra Yousufi (1663) is the highest-rated female player.