Editor
The Taliban have banned chess across the entire country of Afghanistan in response to growing concern over gambling on the strategy game.
Chess is primarily considered a game of skill, but recent trends have created a gambling market. This has led to debate in India regarding chess as a game of skill or chance regarding classification and relation to taxes. Elsewhere, in the world of gambling, poker has been classified as a mind sport in hopes of it being legalized in more places worldwide.
There is no hope of that in Afghanistan, of course, as gambling is strictly prohibited under Islamic Law. The Taliban have steadily increased the strictness of their regime since seizing power in 2021.
Atal Mashwani, the sports directorate of the country, had this to say about the decision to ban chess:
“Chess in syariah (Islamic law) is considered a means of gambling. There are religious considerations regarding the sport of chess. Until these considerations are addressed, the sport of chess is suspended in Afghanistan.”
Not everyone agrees with this decision within the country, as many Muslim-majority countries participate in chess, and in some cases, it is even revered as a great mental battle. The coupling of it with gambling is essentially a recent trend, thanks to more online gambling options worldwide.
Azizullah Gulzada, who owns a cafe in Kabul that hosts informal chess competitions, disagreed with the ban but will respect the Taliban’s decision. He told AFP news:
“Many other Islamic countries have players on an international level. Young people don’t have a lot of activities these days, so many came here every day. They would have a cup of tea and challenge their friends to a game of chess.”
The Taliban have banned a wide variety of sports and games within the country for various reasons, such as the banning of professional mixed martial arts due to its violence. So it is likely that gambling is merely the official reason given to clamp down on more and more activities within the country.
