As in many previous postings, I question Mainstream’s concept of so-called “Islamic Arts and Sciences” when referring to achievements of medieval southern Spain, Asia, and North Africa … therefore, it was a breakthrough when Jon Crumiller noted the following in a beautiful 2016 book entitled MASTERWORKS published by Fuel on the occasion of the World Chess Championship in New York…

Regarding chess sets designated as “Muslim Sets,” Crumiller wrote:

“Despite its name, the origin of the pattern is not entirely clear, and its attribution to Muslim culture is being subjected to the scrutiny of modern scholarship. Sheda Vasseghi, an historian whose field of expertise is Ancient Persia, which was an early adopter of chess, has said that the earliest-known ‘Muslim’ pattern pieces and the ancient Persian chess texts were already in existence before any Islamic presence. She noted that Islam did not arrive in Persia until the 7^th century C.E., so the game of chess and the simple geometric design predates Islam, not vice versa.”

Although proper definitions and sources make it clear that Chess has nothing to do with Islam (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=chess), one may simply point to declarations by Islamic theologians and authority that Chess is forbidden under Islamic rules (http://www.inter-islam.org/Prohibitions/Chess.html). 

When Islamists took control of a secular Iran under an Iranian Constitutional Monarchy in 1979, playing Chess in public was banned as forbidden under Islam.  In 2016, Saudi Arabia’s highest religious authority ruled playing Chess is forbidden in Islam since it falls under gambling and wasting of time (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/21/chess-forbidden-in-islam-rules-saudi-arabia-grand-mufti).

[pic crumiller.com: A 19^th c. chess set that is often labeled by Mainstream as “Islamic” or “Muslim” set…there is nothing about this game or fancy artwork that may be traced to the foundation of Islam in 6th c. Arabian Peninsula… for educational purposes only]