The Taliban has banned a lot of things ... but chess?

Chessboards person nary players astatine nan Kabul Elite Chess Club successful Kabul aft Taliban authorities person barred nan crippled crossed Afghanistan. Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images

A erstwhile chess coach recovered retired nan difficult measurement astir nan Taliban enforcing its prohibition connected chess. Ahmad Sami Hassanzadeh, 44, was successful a park, playing chess successful nan occidental metropolis of Herat pinch friends erstwhile they were accosted by members of nan Taliban vice squad. "They shouted astatine us, they grabbed our chess sets and pieces and they hit up 2 of my friends," he recalled. One of his friends tried to situation nan men, who activity for nan ministry for nan prevention of vice and promotion of virtue, which upholds nan Taliban's hardline mentation of Islam, arsenic fleshed retired successful its caller morality laws. He says 1 of them told him: "Playing chess is forbidden. Buying a chess group is forbidden. Even watching it — is forbidden."

"In short," Hassanzadeh said successful a telephone interview, "this patient and harmless intermezo was snatched distant from us."

The Taliban's prohibition connected playing chess successful nationalist was reported successful May by section and world media, but it appeared that it had begun agelong before, implemented successful stops and starts. Hassanzadeh told NPR that aft nan Taliban seized powerfulness successful August 2021, nan section section of nan Afghan chess federation held a title successful his hometown of Herat. After that, he says, he was told nan federation wouldn't beryllium allowed to clasp immoderate much games. But chess players were still allowed to play nan crippled informally — successful nan parks, "like you do astir nan world."

But weeks earlier nan prohibition was officially announced, Hassanzadeh said customs officials intercepted chess books and games he was importing from neighboring Iran and Pakistan. And then, he said, nan nationalist chess federation was officially suspended — he'd led nan Herat section up until 2017. One female told NPR that nan suspension connected women playing chess extracurricular their homes began moreover earlier — aft nan Taliban came to powerfulness 4 years ago. That's erstwhile she and her friends were barred from their section chess club, which had a designated room for women to play chess.

The female asked to stay anonymous because she was being captious of nan Taliban and feared retribution.

She told NPR that she'd been a master chess subordinate for years — her begetter taught her nan crippled arsenic a child. Before nan Taliban came to power, she utilized to tally classes for women and girls. "Not only did nan section community, families and schools not forbid us," she recalled, "we were really encouraged."

"All that has changed," she said. "We still believe astatine location and online," she told NPR, "but it's not for illustration playing successful nan open. I can't contradict it — women consciousness frustrated."

Girls play successful a 2021 chess title successful Mazar-e-Sharif, superior of nan bluish Balkh province, Afghanistan. Girls and women had been encouraged to study nan crippled — until nan Taliban took powerfulness and ordered a suspension of women playing chess extracurricular their homes — a precursor to nan 2025 prohibition connected nan game. Kawa Basharat/Xinhua News Agency via/Getty Images hide caption

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Kawa Basharat/Xinhua News Agency via/Getty Images

Chess successful Afghanistan isn't madly followed for illustration cricket aliases nan nationalist crippled — buzkashi — a polo-like sport, isolated from nan jockeys person whips and they person to dash crossed a section holding nan star of a goat aliases a substitute to win.

But chess players said nan crippled has agelong been played present — isolated from erstwhile nan Taliban first came to powerfulness successful 1996 — and banned chess, for nan first time, said John Butt, an Islamic clever clever who lived successful Afghanistan during that time.

That chess prohibition ended successful 2001 aft nan U.S.-led forces toppled nan Taliban successful nan aftermath of nan deadly, militant attacks of 9/11, Butt said.

The Taliban suspended chess — during its first loop of rule, and now, because it's "a intends of gambling," nan sports curate Atal Mashwani told nan French news service, AFP. "There are belief considerations regarding nan athletics of chess," he added, without elaborating what those considerations were. He added: "Until these considerations are addressed, nan athletics of chess is suspended successful Afghanistan."

Afghan men play chess astatine a Kabul tourney held successful 2003. Darren McCollester/Getty Images Europe hide caption

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Darren McCollester/Getty Images Europe

But nan president of nan now disbanded Afghanistan Chess Federation says he believes nan suspension is permanent. "The Taliban, erstwhile they decide, are patient successful their decision," said Ghulam Ali Malikzad, who said from Germany, wherever he sought asylum aft nan Taliban seized power. "There is nary dream that it will beryllium reopened."

Because of .... gambling?

The declare that chess is simply a shape of gambling was baffling, according to each chess subordinate NPR said to, including Herat resident Jarallah Badghisi. "There's nary gambling aliases betting successful nan charismatic games," he said, referring to nan ones that utilized to return spot nether nan auspices of nan chess federation. And "even group who play successful nan parks — it's a hobby."

Nigel Short, head of chess improvement astatine the world chess federation, says they're moving cautiously to effort to repeal nan chess ban. He told NPR that he hopes nan Taliban will spot that their suspension makes them "an outlier. We person truthful galore federations from countries that are Muslim — dozens and dozens."

But nan thought of chess arsenic a sleazy crippled of chance isn't new, said Butt, nan Islamic scholar. It goes backmost to nan first days of Islam. "There was this cognition astatine nan clip of nan beatified prophet that this was a type of gambling," Butt said, referring to nan prophet Mohammad. He says 1 revered early Muslim moreover said, "only a sinner plays chess."

There was pushback that began astir nan eighth and ninth century. That's erstwhile 1 of Islam's top scholars, known arsenic al-Shafi'i weighed in. According to Sir Raymond Keene, an world chess grandmaster and writer, al-Shafi'i said that "chess was believe for warfare, for subject maneuvers, and should truthful beryllium permitted nether Islamic rule and that was nan position that mostly prevailed" and added conditions of playing chess, which included not gambling connected nan crippled aliases letting it distract a subordinate from prayers.

Keene says that during al-Shafi's time, elites of 1 Islam's top empires, nan Abbasids of Baghdad, played tons of chess. "Certainly during nan Baghdad period," he said, "the top chess players successful nan world were each Islamic players, group for illustration al-Suli and al-Lajlaj. These guys were fantastically good," he said — and yet dispersed nan crippled to Europe.

Not nan first chess ban

The Taliban aren't nan only ones who person banned chess. Following nan Iranian revolution, nan belief authorities who assumed powerfulness banned chess complete gambling concerns. It was repealed astir a decade later connected information that players wouldn't bet connected nan outcome. Now nan state is simply a location halfway for chess.

But Iran — which neighbors Afghanistan — has been astatine nan bosom of different chess-related controversies. Over nan past 8 years, astatine slightest 4 women chess players and a referee participated successful a tourney successful different state and were observed not wearing headscarves (which is mandatory successful Iran). Fearing punishment, they decided not to return home.

They see Dorsa Derakhshani, who now lives successful nan U.S.

She told NPR that nan Taliban's chess suspension didn't astonishment her. "Classic dictator 101 move," she quipped. "Chess helps you deliberation critically," she said. "If there's a dictatorship, they don't want thinkers."

Her connection to Afghan chess players, she said, is that she hopes "you mightiness get nan opportunity to time off and get to correspond different country."

Hassanzadeh, nan erstwhile chess coach, says he dreams of leaving if nan suspension isn't rescinded. "We've grown up pinch chess, it's woven into our veins," he said. "Banning chess is for illustration cutting retired a portion of my heart."