A former chess coach found out the hard way about the Taliban enforcing its ban on chess. Ahmad Sami Hassanzadeh, 44, was in a park, playing chess in the western city of Herat with friends when ...

A former chess coach says a member of the Taliban vice squad told him: "Playing chess is forbidden. Buying a chess set is forbidden. Even watching it — is forbidden." Why was the game banned?

The Taliban bans chess, saying it's anti-Islamic. Islam has long had a vexed relationship with chess, although Muslims historically helped spread the game ...

A former chess coach says a member of the Taliban vice squad told him: "Playing chess is forbidden. Buying a chess set is forbidden. Even watching it — is forbidden." Why was the game banned?

A former chess coach says a member of the Taliban vice squad told him: "Playing chess is forbidden. Buying a chess set is forbidden. Even watching it — is forbidden." Why was the game banned?