Author: Timothy Gocklin, MBA, MSF
Editor-in-Chief | TerreneGlobe.com
A Game of Kings Now Banned
In a move that has stunned the sports and cultural worlds across the globe, the Taliban government of Afghanistan officially banned the game of chess on May 12, 2025. The announcement was made by the Ministry of Virtue and Vice Propagation, a powerful branch of the Taliban’s theocratic government. The ministry gave “religious reasons” for banning chess, deeming it an exercise in gambling and therefore “haram” (prohibited) according to Islamic law.
This latest ban adds to the growing list of social and recreational activities the Taliban has prohibited since coming to power in 2021. But chess—one of the world’s oldest and most intellectually dignified games—is a particularly symbolic loss to the cultural identity and global standing of Afghanistan.
Why the Taliban Banned Chess
The spokesman for the Taliban sports authority, Atal Mashwani, confirmed the action in a public statement:
“There are also religious criticisms of the game of chess. As long as such criticisms exist, the game of chess is prohibited in Afghanistan.”
Mashwani continued to say that chess is viewed by some of these scholars as an entrance to gambling, idleness, and wastefulness of time—traits the Taliban believe are not in keeping with Islamic virtue.
As a result, the Afghanistan National Chess Federation has been dissolved. Clubs, tournaments, and informal games have been closed down or forced underground. Players who used to represent Afghanistan in international competitions have now been silenced—their boards confiscated, their aspirations crushed.
A Cultural Checkmate
For Afghans—especially youth in urban centers such as Kabul and Herat—chess was one of the very few socially acceptable activities that instilled critical thinking, discipline, and hope. Local teahouses and cafés would regularly host amateur chess tournaments, where young people would gather and engage in friendly, mentally stimulating games.
A Kabul café owner explained to the BBC:
“We do not have music anymore, concerts, or football. Chess was something small, something silent. Now they also removed that.”
The Taliban’s action is being perceived by nearly everyone outside the regime as yet another step backward in the country’s intellectual and cultural life. Historically, chess enjoys deep roots within Persian and Islamic culture, known in ancient treatises as shatranj. Many great Muslim scholars and intellectuals—including caliphs and poets—were avid players and champions of the game.
By banning chess, critics argue, the Taliban is erasing yet another element of Afghanistan’s intellectual heritage in an effort to enforce an ultra-conservative interpretation of Sharia law.
International Indignation and Reactions
The global chess community responded with immediate condemnation. Former FIDE (International Chess Federation) President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov issued an open letter urging the Taliban authorities to reverse the ban, calling it:
“An act of intellectual censorship and cultural vandalism.”
Chess.com and ChessBase—two of the largest online chess platforms—launched awareness campaigns urging governments, athletes, and NGOs to apply pressure on the Taliban. Social media is abuzz with hashtags like #LetAfghanistanThink and #ChessIsNotHaram.
Afghan grandmasters and chess teachers now living in exile have also spoken out. Ahmad Sattar, a former national champion currently residing in Turkey, stated:
“Chess provided Afghan children with a release—something to aspire toward. Now there is nothing left but silence and fear.”
Pattern of Suppression by Taliban
The chess ban is part of a larger trend of Taliban prohibitions targeting art, culture, sports, and women’s rights. Since returning to power, the regime has banned music, concerts, mixed-gender sports, and even barred women from universities and independent travel without a male guardian.
In June, the Taliban also banned mixed martial arts, labeling it “un-Islamic” and “violent,” despite its popularity among Afghan youth. Even kite-flying, a beloved cultural pastime, has faced localized bans.
For a nation that once dreamed of democracy and modernity in the early 2000s, these sweeping restrictions represent a return to the authoritarian excesses of the 1990s.
Religious Excuse or Political Manipulation?
While the Taliban cite Islamic law to justify banning chess, many respected Islamic scholars reject their reasoning.
Dr. Abdul Qadir, professor of Islamic Law at Cairo University, told Al Jazeera:
“Chess has been tackled in Islamic jurisprudence, but most scholars—even in the Sunni school—are permissive as long as it doesn’t interfere with religious obligations. The Taliban’s position is not the norm.”
Critics argue the Taliban’s true goal is not religious observance, but total control. By destroying personal freedoms and discouraging independent thought, the regime tightens its grip on the population and eliminates opportunities for dissent.
What’s Next for Afghan Chess?
The outlook for Afghan chess is bleak. With the national federation dissolved, there are no official avenues for training or competition. Informal games now carry legal risk. For children who once used chess to build confidence and imagine a better future, the board no longer represents a battlefield of strategy—but a symbol of lost opportunity.
Some believe that underground chess clubs may soon appear, much like secret music circles and informal girls’ schools already operating across the country. Others fear repression will be too severe.
International human rights organizations are urging global chess authorities—such as FIDE—to consider suspending Afghanistan’s participation in tournaments until the ban is lifted.
Final Thoughts
The Taliban’s ban on chess is more than a prohibition of a board game—it’s a direct attack on thought, expression, and peaceful competition. It silences one of the few remaining tools of intellectual empowerment available to the Afghan people.