Taliban rulers suspend chess in Afghanistan under 'morality law'

KABUL: Taliban government in Afghanistan have banned chess across the country over concerns that it is a source of gambling — which is illegal under the government morality law, a sports official said on Sunday.

The Taliban government has steadily imposed laws and regulations that reflect its austere vision of Islamic law since seizing power in 2021.

"Chess in sharia (Islamic law) is considered a means of gambling," which is prohibited according to the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice law announced last year, sports directorate spokesperson Atal Mashwani told AFP.

"There are religious considerations regarding the sport of chess," he said.

"Until these considerations are addressed, the sport of chess is suspended in Afghanistan," he added.

Mashwani said the national chess federation had not held any official events for around two years and "had some issues on the leadership level".

Azizullah Gulzada owns a cafe in Kabul that has hosted informal chess competitions in recent years, but denied any gambling took place and noted chess was played in other Muslim-majority countries.

"Many other Islamic countries have players on an international level," he told AFP.

He said he would respect the suspension but that it would hurt his business and those who enjoyed the game.

"Young people don´t have a lot of activities these days, so many came here everyday," he told AFP.

"They would have a cup of tea and challenge their friends to a game of chess."

Afghanistan’s authorities have restricted other sports in recent years and women have been essentially barred from participating in sport altogether in the country.

Last year, the authorities banned free fighting such as mixed martial arts (MMA) in professional competition, saying it was too "violent" and "problematic with respect to sharia".