Legal
Welcome to Chess.com! By using Chess.com you agree to be bound by the following policies:
Basic Site Rules
Put simply: be nice, no cheating!
Chess.com is a friendly community for those who love chess! Please be on your best behavior as you play chess and
interact with others. Failure to follow these rules will result in your account being closed.
Interacting with Members
Chess.com is a safe place for people to come and enjoy. There should be no abusive language, personal attacks,
threats, or any other unkind behavior.
Keep It Clean
You may not post any offensive content on Chess.com including your username, avatar, or personal description. You
may not add any offensive comments, chat, or other content. The following behavior is prohibited and can result in
your being kicked or banned: cheating, using offensive/vulgar language, using toilet humor, making personal attacks,
spamming or advertising competitive websites, religious or political debate, intentionally pointless/distracting
posts, and discussion of illegal activities (drugs, etc).
No Cheating or Computer Help
You can NEVER use chess programs (Chessmaster, Fritz, etc) to analyze current ongoing
games unless specifically permitted (such as a computer tournament, etc). The only type of computer
assistance allowed is games databases for opening lines in Turn-based Chess and Vote Chess. You cannot receive ANY
outside assistance on Live Chess games.
Only One Account
Members may only have ONE Chess.com account. Members who create more than one account may have all accounts
closed.
Please read this entire page for all rules, terms, policies, and agreements on Chess.com!
Privacy Policy
Put simply: we will NEVER share your information with anyone!
This policy covers how Chess.com treats personal information that Chess.com collects and receives, including
information related to your past use of Chess.com products and services. Personal information is information about
you that is personally identifiable like your name, address, email address, or phone number, and that is not
otherwise publicly available. This policy does not apply to the practices of companies that Chess.com does not own
or control, or to people that Chess.com does not employ or manage. In addition, certain Chess.com services may have
their own associated privacy statements.
Collecting Information
Chess.com collects personal information when you register with Chess.com, when you use Chess.com products or
services, when you visit Chess.com pages or the pages of certain Chess.com partners, and when you enter promotions
or sweepstakes. Chess.com may combine information about you that we have with information we obtain from business
partners or other companies. When you register we ask for information such as your name, email address, birth date,
gender, zip code, occupation, industry, and personal interests. Once you register with Chess.com and sign in to our
services, you are not anonymous to us. Chess.com automatically receives and records information on our server logs
from your browser, including your IP address, Chess.com cookie information, and the page you request. Chess.com uses
information for the following general purposes: to customize the advertising and content you see, fulfill your
requests for products and services, improve our services, contact you, conduct research, and provide anonymous
reporting for internal and external clients.
Cookies & Targeting
Chess.com may set and access Chess.com ‘cookies’ on your computer. Chess.com lets other companies that
show advertisements on some of our pages set and access their cookies on your computer. Advertisers or other
companies do not have access to Chess.com's cookies. These third-party advertising companies serve ads when you
visit our website. These companies may use non-personally identifiable information (e.g., click stream information,
browser type, time and date, subject of advertisements clicked or scrolled over - not including your name,
address, email address, or telephone number) during your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide
advertisements about goods and services likely to be of greater interest to you. Google, as a third party vendor,
uses cookies to serve ads on this site. This includes the DoubleClick DART cookie which
enables it to serve ads to users based on their visit to this site and other sites on the Internet. You may opt out
of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy. To
learn more about this behavioral advertising practice or to opt-out of this type of advertising, you can visit www.networkadvertising.org.
Notwithstanding any other provision in this policy, in visiting this site, a third-party advertiser (or its
partners) may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser. These cookies enable more customized ads, content
or services to be provided to you. To trigger these cookies, we may pass an encrypted or "hashed" (non-human
readable) identifier corresponding to your email address to a Web advertising partner, who may place a cookie on
your computer. No personally identifiable information is on, or is connected to, these cookies. To opt-out of these
cookies, please go to http://www.privacychoice.org/companies or
http://www.aboutads.info/choices.
Your Information
You can edit your Chess.com account information at any time. We reserve the right to send you certain
communications relating to the Chess.com service, such as service announcements, administrative messages and the
Chess.com Newsletter, that are considered part of your Chess.com account, without offering you the opportunity to
opt-out of receiving them. You can delete your account by contacting Chess.com.
Confidentiality and Security
We limit access to personal information about you to employees who we believe reasonably need to come into contact
with that information to provide products or services to you or in order to do their jobs. We have physical,
electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations to protect personal information about
you.
Protecting Your Information
Chess.com does not rent, sell, or share personal information about you with other people or nonaffiliated companies
except to provide products or services you've requested, when we have your permission, or under the following
circumstances:
- We provide the information to trusted partners who work on behalf of or with Chess.com under confidentiality
agreements. These companies may use your personal information to help Chess.com communicate with you about offers
from Chess.com and our marketing partners. However, these companies do not have any independent right to share
this information.
- We respond to subpoenas, court orders, or legal process, or to establish or exercise our legal rights or defend
against legal claims;
- We believe it is necessary to share information in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding
illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person,
violations of Chess.com's terms of use, or as otherwise required by law.
- We transfer information about you if Chess.com is acquired by or merged with another company. In this event,
Chess.com will notify you before information about you is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy
policy.
Policy Updates
Chess.com may update this policy. We will notify you about significant changes in the way we treat personal
information by sending a notice to the primary email address specified in your Chess.com account or by placing a
prominent notice on our site.
Terms of Service
Put simply: respect others, respect the law, and enjoy yourself!
Chess.com provides its service to you subject to the following terms and conditions (the "Terms of Service").
Chess.com may also offer other services that are governed separately by their own Terms of Service.
Services
Chess.com provides a collection of content, resources, tools, and technologies that enable users to enjoy chess and
its surrounding culture (the “Service”). You understand and agree that the Service is provided “AS-IS”
and that Chess.com does not assume any liability for personal information stored through our Service. You accept
that the Service may include advertisements. Chess.com reserves the right at any time and from time to time to
modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice. You
agree that Chess.com shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or
discontinuance of the Service.
Registration
In consideration of your use of the Service, you represent that you are of legal age to form a binding contract.
You also agree to: (a) provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the
Service's registration form and (b) maintain and promptly update the Registration Data to keep it true, accurate,
current and complete. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or if
Chess.com has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete,
Chess.com has the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the
Service. Chess.com is concerned about the safety and privacy of all its users, particularly children. For this
reason, parents or guardians of children under the age of 13 who wish to allow their children access to the Service
must create an account that is maintained by a legal guardian of at least 18 years old and monitor the child's
usage. By allowing a child access to your account, you also give your child permission to access all areas of the
Service. Please remember that the Service is designed to appeal to a broad audience. Accordingly, as the legal
guardian, it is your responsibility to determine whether any of the Service areas and/or Content are appropriate for
your child.
Member Accounts
While many portions of the Service do not require registration, you may register as a user of Chess.com to enjoy
greater access or privileges. If you choose to register you will receive a username and password upon completing the
Service's registration process. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password and account
and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password or account. You agree to (a) immediately
notify Chess.com of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security, and (b) ensure
that you exit from your account at the end of each session. Chess.com cannot and will not be liable for any loss or
damage arising from your failure to protect your account.
You acknowledge, consent and agree that Chess.com may access, preserve and disclose your account information and
Content if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access preservation or disclosure is
reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the TOS; (c) respond to claims that any Content
violates the rights of third parties; (d) respond to your requests for customer service; or (e) protect the rights,
property or personal safety of Chess.com, its users and the public.
Account Limitations
You acknowledge that Chess.com may establish general practices and limits concerning use of the Service, including
without limitation the maximum number of days that email messages, message board postings or other uploaded Content
will be retained by the Service, the maximum number of email messages that may be sent from or received by an
account on the Service, the maximum size of any email message that may be sent from or received by an account on the
Service, the maximum disk space that will be allotted on Chess.com’s servers on your behalf, and the maximum
number of times (and the maximum duration for which) you may access the Service in a given period of time. You agree
that Chess.com has no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any messages and other
communications or other Content maintained or transmitted by the Service. You acknowledge that Chess.com reserves
the right to log off accounts that are inactive for an extended period of time. You further acknowledge that
Chess.com reserves the right to modify these general practices and limits from time to time.
Termination
You agree that Chess.com may, under certain circumstances and without prior notice, immediately terminate your
Chess.com account, any associated email address, and access to the Service. Cause for such termination shall
include, but not be limited to, (a) breaches or violations of the TOS or other incorporated agreements or
guidelines, (b) requests by law enforcement or other government agencies, (c) a request by you (self-initiated
account deletions), (d) discontinuance or material modification to the Service (or any part thereof), (e) unexpected
technical or security issues or problems, (f) extended periods of inactivity, (g) engagement by you in fraudulent or
illegal activities, and/or (h) nonpayment of any fees owed by you in connection with the Services. Termination of
your Chess.com account includes (a) removal of access to all offerings within the Service, (b) deletion of your
password and all related information, files and content associated with or inside your account (or any part
thereof), and (c) barring of further use of the Service. Further, you agree that all terminations for cause shall be
made in Chess.com’s sole discretion and that Chess.com shall not be liable to you or any third party for any
termination of your account, any associated email address, or access to the Service.
Member Conduct
You agree to not use the Service to:
- upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that is unlawful,
harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy,
hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
- threaten or harm minors in any way;
- "stalk" or otherwise harass another;
- impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a Chess.com representative, or
falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
- forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any
Content transmitted through the Service;
- upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that you do not have a
right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships;
- upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that infringes any
patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party;
- upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized
advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid
schemes," or any other form of solicitation, except in those areas that are designated for such
purpose;
- upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that contains software
viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of
any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
- disrupt the normal flow of dialogue or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other
users' ability to engage in real time exchanges;
- interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers or networks connected to the Service, or
disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Service;
- intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international
law, and any regulations having the force of law; and/or
- collect or store personal data about other users in connection with the prohibited conduct and
activities set forth in the paragraphs above.
You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any
portion of the Service (including your Chess.com username), use of the Service, or access to the Service. You agree
that your Chess.com account is non-transferable.
Content
You understand that all information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages,
tags, or other materials ("Content"), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, are the
sole responsibility of the person from whom such Content originated. This means that you, and not Chess.com, are
entirely responsible for all Content that you upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available via the
Service. Chess.com does not control the Content posted via the Service and, as such, does not guarantee the
accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. You understand that by using the Service, you may unintentionally be
exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will Chess.com be liable in
any way for any Content, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any Content, or any loss or
damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made
available via the Service.
You acknowledge that Chess.com may or may not pre-screen Content, but that Chess.com and its designees shall have
the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to pre-screen, refuse, or move any Content that is
available via the Service. Without limiting the foregoing, Chess.com and its designees shall have the right to
remove any Content that violates the TOS or is otherwise objectionable. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear
all risks associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or
usefulness of such Content. In this regard, you acknowledge that you may not rely on any Content created by
Chess.com or submitted to Chess.com, including without limitation information in Chess.com forums and in all other
parts of the Service.
You understand that the Service and software embodied within the Service may include security components that
permit digital materials to be protected, and that use of these materials is subject to usage rules set by Chess.com
and/or content providers who provide content to the Service. You may not attempt to override or circumvent any of
the usage rules embedded into the Service. Any unauthorized reproduction, publication, further distribution or
public exhibition of the materials provided on the Service, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited.
Chess.com does not claim ownership of Content you submit or make available for inclusion on the Service. However,
with respect to Content you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Service, you
grant Chess.com the following worldwide, royalty-free and non-exclusive license: that any Content you submit or make
available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Service, the perpetual, irrevocable and fully
sublicensable license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and
publicly display such Content (in whole or in part) and to incorporate such Content into other works in any format
or medium now known or later developed.
Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold Chess.com and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, employees, partners
and licensors harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due
to or arising out of Content you submit, post, transmit or otherwise make available through the Service, your use of
the Service, your connection to the Service, your violation of the TOS, or your violation of any rights of
another.
Dealings With Advertisers
Your correspondence or business dealings with, or participation in promotions of, advertisers found on or through
the Service, including payment and delivery of related goods or services, and any other terms, conditions,
warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such advertiser. You agree
that Chess.com shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any
such dealings or as the result of the presence of such advertisers on the Service.
Links
The Service may provide, or third parties may provide, links to other World Wide Web sites or resources. Because
Chess.com has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that Chess.com is not responsible
for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for
any Content, advertising, products or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further
acknowledge and agree that Chess.com shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or
loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such Content, goods or
services available on or through any such site or resource.
Proprietary Rights
You acknowledge and agree that the Service and any necessary software used in connection with the Service (
"Software") contain proprietary and confidential information that is protected by applicable
intellectual property and other laws. You further acknowledge and agree that Content contained in sponsor
advertisements or information presented to you through the Service or by advertisers is protected by copyrights,
trademarks, service marks, patents or other proprietary rights and laws. Except as expressly authorized by Chess.com
or advertisers, you agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on the
Service or the Software, in whole or in part.
Chess.com grants you a personal, non-transferable and non-exclusive right and license to use the object code of its
Software on a single computer; provided that you do not (and do not allow any third party to) copy, modify, create a
derivative work from, reverse engineer, reverse assemble or otherwise attempt to discover any source code, sell,
assign, sublicense, grant a security interest in or otherwise transfer any right in the Software. You agree not to
modify the Software in any manner or form, nor to use modified versions of the Software, including (without
limitation) for the purpose of obtaining unauthorized access to the Service. You agree not to access the Service by
any means other than through the interface that is provided by Chess.com for use in accessing the Service.
Trademark Information
All CHESS.COM trademarks and service marks and other Chess.com logos and product and service names are trademarks
of Chess.com, LLC. Without Chess.com's prior permission, you agree not to display or use these trademarks in any
manner.
General Information
The Terms of Service constitutes the entire agreement between you and Chess.com and governs your use of the
Service, superseding any prior agreements between you and Chess.com with respect to the Service. You also may be
subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use or purchase certain other Chess.com services,
affiliate services, third-party content or third-party software. The TOS and the relationship between you and
Chess.com shall be governed by the laws of the State of Nevada without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You
and Chess.com agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the State of
Nevada.The failure of Chess.com to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the TOS shall not constitute a
waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the TOS is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be
invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as
reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the TOS remain in full force and effect. You agree that
regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of
the Service or the TOS must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever
barred.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:
- YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS"
AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. CHESS.COM AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS,
PARTNERS AND LICENSORS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT
NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
- CHESS.COM AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, PARTNERS AND LICENSORS
MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (ii) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY,
SECURE OR ERROR-FREE; (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICE WILL BE ACCURATE OR
RELIABLE; (iv) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU
THROUGH THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS; AND (v) ANY ERRORS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED.
- ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICE IS ACCESSED AT
YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF
DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.
- NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM CHESS.COM OR THROUGH OR
FROM THE SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TOS.
- A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF USERS MAY EXPERIENCE EPILEPTIC SEIZURES WHEN EXPOSED TO CERTAIN LIGHT
PATTERNS OR BACKGROUNDS ON A COMPUTER SCREEN OR WHILE USING THE SERVICE. CERTAIN CONDITIONS MAY INDUCE PREVIOUSLY
UNDETECTED EPILEPTIC SYMPTOMS EVEN IN USERS WHO HAVE NO HISTORY OF PRIOR SEIZURES OR EPILEPSY. IF YOU, OR ANYONE
IN YOUR FAMILY, HAVE AN EPILEPTIC CONDITION, CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN PRIOR TO USING THE SERVICE. IMMEDIATELY
DISCONTINUE USE OF THE SERVICE AND CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS WHILE
USING THE SERVICE: DIZZINESS, ALTERED VISION, EYE OR MUSCLE TWITCHES, LOSS OF AWARENESS, DISORIENTATION, ANY
INVOLUNTARY MOVEMENT, OR CONVULSIONS.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT CHESS.COM AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS,
PARTNERS AND LICENSORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR
EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER
INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF CHESS.COM HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (i) THE
USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE; (ii) THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES RESULTING
FROM ANY GOODS, DATA, INFORMATION OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED
INTO THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE; (iii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (iv)
STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICE; OR (v) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICE.
EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR
INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
Subscriber Agreement
Paid subscriptions to Chess.com and other services on this site are governed by the following terms and
agreement:
Payments
Payments for subscriptions can be made via credit card, PayPal, or money order. All subscriptions are in US
dollars. All credit card subscriptions are auto-renewed until cancelled by the subscriber (by contacting Member Support). Payments made by mail should identify the subscription product and
should be sent to the address at the bottom of this page.
Services
Subscribers are guaranteed to receive the services outlined on the subscription page for the duration of their
subscription. Services are effective and available immediately upon receipt of payment.
Upgrades/Downgrades
Upgrading can be done at any time and the upgrade price will be pro-rated according to the time used and time
remaining. The upgrade price will show in the checkout process/cart. Downgrades are not available until after the
expiration of the original subscription. To downgrade please contact Member Support.
Refunds
If you are not satisfied, please contact Member Support. All first-time subscriptions
are given a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee except those purchased through iTunes/Apple. Once a member has received a refund they are no longer eligible for the
30-Day Money Back Guarantee. Refunds will NOT be given to subscribers who are banned from the site due to violating
the Terms and Conditions of site use (abusive behavior, cheating, etc).
If you have any questions regarding the above policies please contact us.
Chess.com
Po Box 60400
Palo Alto, CA 94306