1. Who we are
Chess Nexus (“we”, “us”, “our”) operates the website and application at chessnexus.in — an online chess learning and competition platform offering puzzles, tactics races, live games, game analysis, tournaments, study tools and a community. This policy applies to all of those services. The service is operated by Chess Nexus.
2. Information we collect
2.1 Information you provide
- Account details: username, display name, password (stored only as a secure hash — we never store your plain password), and, optionally, your email address.
- Profile details (optional): country, chess experience level, a short biography, an avatar, and your Chess.com and Lichess usernames if you choose to link them.
- Content you create: studies, positions, puzzles, community posts and messages, and similar content you submit.
2.2 Information generated as you use the service
- Gameplay and progress: moves, puzzle attempts and results, ratings, scores, streaks, tournament and race results, achievements and activity history.
- Usage and device data: log data such as IP address, browser/device type, pages viewed, approximate activity times, and online/offline status, used to operate and secure the service.
2.3 Cookies and local storage
We use cookies and browser local storage to keep you signed in, remember your preferences (such as board and piece themes), and keep the service secure. We do not use third-party advertising cookies. You can clear or block cookies in your browser, but some features may stop working.
3. How we use your information
- To create and manage your account and authenticate you.
- To provide the service — run games, puzzles, races, tournaments, ratings, leaderboards, study tools and the community.
- To save your progress, preferences and achievements.
- To keep the service safe — detect and prevent cheating, abuse, fraud and security incidents.
- To communicate with you about your account, important changes, and support requests.
- To understand and improve how the service is used.
- To comply with legal obligations.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not show third-party advertising.
4. Children’s privacy
Chess Nexus is a general-audience service intended for chess players of all levels. It is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your country), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from such children. We do not ask for a user’s age, date of birth, or parent/guardian contact details at sign-up.
If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child under the applicable minimum age has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
5. Coaches and their students
Chess Nexus offers tools for chess coaches to teach and manage their own students. The core platform is free for players. Coaching tools are offered to coaches on a paid subscription because they provide additional capabilities — managing a student roster, progress dashboards, assignments, attendance and study packs — that cost us more to host, store and operate. Subscription tiers are based on the number of students a coach manages.
If you use the service as a coach, please note:
- Coach information we process includes your account and profile details, your chosen subscription plan, and records of your subscription payments (see “Payments” below).
- Student information a coach adds — such as a student’s name, username, email, group, attendance, fees, notes and assignment progress — is stored securely and made available only to that coach to provide the coaching tools. When you add a student, you are responsible for having any consent required to share their information with us, and for using it lawfully and only for legitimate coaching purposes.
- A coach can see the progress and activity of students linked to them. Students can see which coach they are linked to.
- Our administrators do not access individual coach or student records. The operator’s dashboard shows only aggregate statistics — for example how many coaches have joined, how many have an active subscription, the total number of students, and how many payments were made — and never the names, emails, notes or other details of any specific coach or student.
- We process student information on behalf of the coach to deliver these features, and we protect it with the same security measures described below.
6. Payments
Coach subscriptions are processed through Razorpay, a third-party payment provider. When you pay, your payment is handled directly by Razorpay on their secured, PCI-DSS-compliant systems.
- We do not see or store your full card number, CVV, or other sensitive payment credentials. Whatever payment method you use at Razorpay’s checkout, those details are collected and processed by Razorpay under their own privacy policy.
- What we store is limited transaction information needed to manage your subscription and our records — for example the plan and billing cycle, the amount and currency, the payment status, the period covered, and the transaction reference IDs Razorpay returns (order ID, payment ID).
- Every payment is verified using a cryptographic signature check (HMAC-SHA256), and payment notifications from Razorpay are verified with a signed webhook, so we can confirm a payment is genuine before activating a subscription.
- For business reporting, our administrators see only aggregate payment figures — such as how many payments were made and total revenue over a period — not the payment details of any individual coach.
Please review Razorpay’s Privacy Policy to understand how they handle your payment information.
7. Supporters and donations
Chess Nexus may offer an optional “Buy Me a Coffee” feature that lets you make a voluntary donation to support the platform. Donations are entirely optional and are not required to use any feature.
- How payment is made: donations are processed through our payment provider, Razorpay, the same as coach subscriptions. We do not see or store your card or banking credentials — those are handled by Razorpay.
- What we store: a record of your donation — the amount and currency, a transaction reference, the date, and an optional note you choose to leave.
- Supporter badge (public): as a thank-you, making a donation may display a supporter badge (for example a “☕” icon) next to your display name for a limited time. If we show a list of recent supporters, it may include your display name, avatar and donation amount. If you would prefer not to appear publicly as a supporter, contact us and we will hide it.
8. How we share information
We share information only in these limited situations:
- Publicly within the service: your display name, avatar, ratings, achievements and activity may appear on profiles, leaderboards, tournament results and the community, so other users can see them. Please avoid putting sensitive personal information in your display name, biography or posts.
- Service providers: trusted vendors who help us run the service (for example, hosting, database and infrastructure providers, and our payment provider Razorpay) under agreements that require them to protect your data and use it only on our instructions or as needed to provide their service.
- Legal reasons: when required by law, or to protect the rights, safety and security of our users and the service.
- Business transfers: if the service is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, your information may be transferred, subject to this policy.
9. Third-party links
If you link your Chess.com or Lichess username, or follow links to external sites, those services have their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for the practices of third-party sites and encourage you to read their policies.
10. Data retention
We keep your information for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the service. If you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal information within a reasonable period, except where we must keep certain records to comply with the law, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements.
11. Security
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information — including hashed passwords and access controls. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to protect your data and to respond promptly to any incident.
12. Your rights and choices
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or export your personal information, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to withdraw consent. You can update much of your information directly in your profile settings, or contact us to exercise these rights. We will respond as required by applicable law, including the GDPR (EU/UK) and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (India).
13. International users
We are based in India and our service is operated from there. If you access Chess Nexus from outside India, your information may be processed in India and other countries, which may have different data protection laws than your own.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and, where appropriate, notify you within the service. Your continued use of Chess Nexus after an update means you accept the revised policy.
15. Contact us
If you have questions, concerns or requests about your privacy — including to access, correct, export or delete your information — please reach us through our Contact Us page.