Prohibition in religion
The game of chess, at times, has been discouraged by various religious authorities, including Jewish, Christian and Muslim. Jewish scholars Maimonides and Kalonymus ben Kalonymus both condemned chess, though the former only condemned it when played for money while the latter condemned it in all circumstances. In medieval times both the Catholic and Orthodox churches condemned chess. Though the 16th century Russian Orthodox Domostroy condemned the game, chess nevertheless remained popular in Russia. In 1979, Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ruled against chess, but later allowed it as long as it did not involve gambling. Iran now has an active confederation for playing chess and sends players to international events. Saudi Mufti Abdul-Aziz ash-Sheikh similarly ruled against chess, arguing that it constituted gambling. Iraqi Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said chess was forbidden "even without placing a bet”.
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