Answered by Sidi Mostafa Azzam
What is the ruling on playing chess?
Answer:
As Imam Nawawi mentions in his Minhaj al-Talibin, playing chess is detestable (makruh) (al-Siraj al-Wahhaj, 580 (Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyyah)), meaning that you are not punished for doing it and you are rewarded for avoiding it.