The circumstances of Naveed Ahmad’s life have imposed many restrictions on the impoverished Afghan teenager. He can’t travel abroad, pursue his dream of getting a university degree, or even afford to eat out with friends.
But the one thing the19-year-old never lost access to was his favorite sport and pastime: Chess.
Until now.
Among the dozens of restrictions the Taliban have imposed on its citizens, the recent adoption of a measure banning chess due to “religious considerations.”
“As someone who loves playing chess, I was very, very upset that chess has been banned in Afghanistan,” said Ahmad, speaking by phone from his native province of Kunduz in the country’s north.
“I have always dreamt of taking part in chess tournaments and hoped that at least I would travel to various provinces to play chess,” said Ahmad, who has played chess since the age of 10.
The Taliban’s sports directorate said it was suspending chess until the further notice over concerns that the sport encourages gambling, which is banned in Islam.
The state agency’s spokesman Atal Mashwani told reporters in mid-May that chess would remain suspended across Afghanistan “until these considerations are addressed, the sport of chess is suspended in Afghanistan.”
Nearly three months on, the Taliban authorities have not announced if they have come to a final decision.
RFE/RL contacted Mashwani for comment, but he did not respond to the requests.
The Taliban first outlawed chess during its previous stint in power that ended in 2001.
The chess suspension adds to a long list of bans and restrictions that the Taliban has imposed on sports, arts, and other activities since returning to power in August 2021.
In 2024, it banned mixed martial arts (MMA), saying it’s too violent and poses the risk of death. MMA had been hugely popular among young Afghans before the Taliban’s return.
The ultra-conservative leadership also prohibited body builders from displaying their thighs and ordered them to wear wide, long shorts with hemlines reaching just below the knees.
Women, meanwhile, have been prohibited from all sports as well as working out in gyms. Even women-only fitness clubs have been closed by the Taliban.
The Taliban also has outlawed music on television and radio and in weddings and public gatherings.
Chess Is Not Banned In Other Islamic Nations
Chess may not have the massive following among Afghans that soccer or cricket have. But it still had been widely played – both as a sport and hobby – across the country.
During the two decades of the Western-backed government in Kabul, Afghanistan’s Chess Federation — which has also been suspended — frequently organized local and national chess tournaments both for men and women. Many others played chess as a pastime in restaurants, parks, and private gatherings.
Ismail Jamshidi, the former head of the chess federation, condemned the Taliban for suspending a pastime that many Afghans call a “harmless” activity.
“Chess is a sport, art, and science. Anyone who prevents people from playing it, commits an atrocity against sports, art, and science,” Jamshidi told RFE/RL.
Chess is not banned in any other Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia and the world’s most-populous Muslim nation, Indonesia.
Iran temporarily banned chess after its Islamic revolution in 1979 over concerns that it encouraged gambling and that it went against Islamic values. But the ban was lifted in 1988 on the condition that chess should not be used for gambling purposes.
For now, Ahmad wistfully talks about losing without even making an opening move. At least, he says, he can still play it on a mobile phone application.
