Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
In the article, Zakat is for Individuals, & Reliable Scholarship, it mentions the ruling regarding playing Chess, that it is Makruh Tahrimi. Is this the stronger Hanafi opinion or the only hanafi opinion?
Answer:
Walaikum assalam,
This is the relied upon opinion in the Hanafi school, as mentioned by Ibn Abidin in his Hashiya, and Khalil al-Nahlawi in his Durar al-Mubaha fi’l Hadhr wa’l Ibaha.
The position of Abu Yusuf, it should be noted, is not that chess is merely permissible. He, like Imam al-Shafi`i after him, placed several stringent conditions that are rarely met by those who habitually play chess.
Wassalam,
Faraz.