The action was taken by the sports directorate of the Taliban who regulates all the sporting events in the country. According to a government sports department spokesperson, Atal Mashwani, Chess is being treated as gambling which is banned according to the Sharia Law, which is strictly adhered to by the Taliban.

The Taliban government has suspended chess until further notice, citing reasons that the game is linked to gambling which is considered to be under the country’s strict interpretation of Islamic law according to AFP . A sports official confirmed the suspension of the game on Saturday.

The Afghanistan Chess Federation was also dissolved as part of the ban. Taliban officials confirmed that the chess-related activities are suspended indefinitely.

"Chess in sharia is considered a means of gambling, which is prohibited according to the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice law announced last year,” he stated to the news agency.

"There are religious considerations regarding the sport of chess.”

The statement depicts that until the issues are resolved in the country chess would continue to remain banned.

Earlier, the Afghan chess players had appealed for support and permission to continue playing

The authorities in the country have restricted other sports in recent years and particularly, women athletes have been barred from participating in them. Last year, the authorities banned Mixed Marital Arts (MMA) in the country saying the discipline is too ‘violent’ and ‘problematic with respect to sharia’.

Earlier, Iran had banned chess after the 1979 Islamic Revolution saying it went against Islamic values. Also, the sport faced ban in China in 1965-76 during the cultural revolution.

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