Is chess absolutely forbidden, or is it forbidden in certain cases?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: What is the ruling on the game of chess?
Answer:
Chess is not permissible. It is an act of the Zoroastrians. If it is played for a stake, it is forbidden, and the stake is forbidden, and it is a forbidden earning. If it is played without a stake, it is forbidden because it is idle play, a game, and imitating the Zoroastrians. Yes.
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: What is the ruling on the game of chess?
Answer:
Chess is not permissible. It is an act of the Zoroastrians. If it is played for a stake, it is forbidden, and the stake is forbidden, and it is a forbidden earning. If it is played without a stake, it is forbidden because it is idle play, a game, and imitating the Zoroastrians. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [3436/1561] هل الشطرنج محرم مطلقا أم في حالات معينة؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.