Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin-Abdullah al-Sheikh, the most powerful Sunni religious figure in Saudi Arabia, made the proclamation while taking questions during his weekly television show, the Guardian reported.
“The game of chess is a waste of time and an opportunity to squander money. It causes enmity and hatred between people,” he said, according to a translation by Middle East Eye.
Though many reports said he has banned chess in the country, the website explained that the Grand Mufti's pronouncements did not carry force of law.
Al-Sheikh justified the ruling by referring to a verse in the Quran banning "intoxicants, gambling, idolatry and divination".
Iraq's Supreme Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani in 1979 had issued a decree terming the game "haram mutlaqan" (forbidden absolutely or under any circumstances), with or without betting.
Chess, believed to have originated in India, is widely popular in the Middle East as well.
The Independent quoted Musa Bin Thaily, who presides over the Saudi Chess Association’s law committee, as saying a planned chess tournament in Mecca would go ahead on Friday.
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