Chess is banned?

I did not know it, but apparently it is. I do not understand it that much. Why on earth would chess be banned, or forbidden or even controlled? Surely that kind of mental exercise is good for you? And while any practise, taken to extremes, is bad, surely things like chess, as long as you are not wagering on it, should be ok????



All this to be taken with a grain of piquant salt!!!