1. Acceptance of these terms
These Terms & Conditions (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the Chess Nexus website and application at chessnexus.in and all related features (the “Service”), operated by Chess Nexus (“we”, “us”, “our”). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.
2. Eligibility
The Service is a general-audience platform and is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your country). By using the Service you confirm that you meet the minimum age and are able to enter into these Terms. If you use the Service on behalf of an organisation, you confirm you are authorised to bind it to these Terms.
3. Your account
- You must provide accurate information when you register and keep it up to date.
- You are responsible for keeping your password secure and for all activity that happens under your account. Tell us promptly if you suspect unauthorised use.
- One person should not maintain multiple accounts to gain an unfair advantage (for example, in ratings, races or tournaments).
- You may close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate accounts that breach these Terms (see “Suspension and termination”).
4. Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- Cheat or manipulate gameplay — for example using chess engines or outside assistance where not allowed, colluding, or abusing bugs to affect ratings, puzzles, races, tournaments or leaderboards.
- Harass, threaten, bully, impersonate or abuse other users, or post unlawful, hateful, sexual, or otherwise harmful content.
- Choose usernames, display names, avatars, or content that are offensive, deceptive, infringing, or impersonate others.
- Attempt to disrupt, overload, reverse-engineer, scrape, or gain unauthorised access to the Service or other users’ accounts or data.
- Use the Service for any unlawful purpose.
5. The Service is free for players
The core Chess Nexus experience — puzzles, tactics races, online games, analysis, tournaments, study tools and the community — is provided to players free of charge. We may add, change, or remove features over time, and we may run, pause, or modify free features at our discretion.
6. Coaches and subscriptions
- Coaching tools are offered on a paid subscription, with tiers based on the number of students a coach manages. Prices and plan features are shown at the point of purchase and may change for future billing periods.
- Subscriptions renew for the billing cycle you select (for example monthly or yearly) unless cancelled before the renewal date. You can cancel at any time; cancellation stops future renewals and your plan remains active until the end of the current paid period.
- If you use the Service as a coach, you are responsible for the students you add and for having any consent required to handle their information, and you must use the coaching tools lawfully and only for legitimate coaching. Our handling of coach and student data is described in the Privacy Policy.
- We may change subscription pricing or plan limits; where required, we will give reasonable notice before changes affect you.
7. Payments, donations and refunds
- Payments (coach subscriptions and any optional “Buy Me a Coffee” donations) are processed by our third-party payment provider, Razorpay. We do not collect or store your full card number, banking or other sensitive payment credentials — those are handled by Razorpay.
- You must use a valid payment method that you are authorised to use. Applicable taxes may be added.
- Donations are voluntary, are not required to use the Service, and are generally non-refundable.
- Subscription payments are non-refundable except where required by law or expressly stated by us. If you believe you were charged in error, contact us and we will review it in good faith. See our Refund & Cancellation Policy for full details.
8. User content
- “User content” means anything you submit — studies, positions, puzzles, messages, posts, profile details and similar. You keep ownership of your content.
- You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, display and use your content as needed to operate and provide the Service (for example, showing your moves, profile or community posts to others).
- You are responsible for your content and confirm you have the rights to share it and that it does not break these Terms or the law.
- We may remove content that violates these Terms or that we reasonably consider harmful, unlawful or inappropriate.
9. Our intellectual property
The Service, including its software, design, logos, text and graphics (excluding your user content and third-party materials), belongs to us or our licensors and is protected by law. We grant you a personal, limited, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the Service for its intended purpose. You may not copy, resell, or create derivative works from the Service except as allowed by law or with our permission.
10. Third-party services
The Service may link to or integrate third-party services (for example Chess.com, Lichess, or payment providers). We are not responsible for third-party services, and your use of them is subject to their own terms and privacy policies.
11. Suspension and termination
We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, with or without notice, if you breach these Terms, if your use harms other users or the Service, or as required by law. You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (such as content licences already granted, and the disclaimers and limitations below) will continue to apply.
12. Disclaimers
The Service is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, to the maximum extent permitted by law. We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, or that ratings, results or content will always be accurate.
13. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for loss of data, profits, or goodwill, arising from your use of (or inability to use) the Service. Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law.
14. Changes to the Service and these Terms
We may update these Terms 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 the Service after an update means you accept the revised Terms. We may also change, suspend or discontinue parts of the Service.
15. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of India, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, and the courts located in India will have jurisdiction over any disputes, except where applicable law gives you the right to bring a claim elsewhere.
16. Contact us
Questions about these Terms? Reach us through our Contact Us page.