Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By downloading, installing, accessing, or using CheckmateX, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms. You must be at least 13 years old (or the minimum age in your jurisdiction) to use CheckmateX.

2. Description of Service

CheckmateX is a free chess training and multiplayer platform. The Service includes, but is not limited to: an openings trainer with 50+ chess openings and interactive variation trees, real-time online multiplayer chess with Blitz, Rapid, and Classical time controls, an AI bot powered by Stockfish at multiple difficulty levels, daily chess puzzles and Puzzle Trouble mode, leaderboard rankings, achievements, daily quests, and community features. We may add, modify, or discontinue features at any time without prior notice.

3. User Accounts

Some features of CheckmateX require you to create an account using Google Sign-In. When creating an account, you agree to provide accurate and complete information. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account. You must notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access to your account. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, display suspicious activity, or remain inactive for an extended period.

4. User Conduct and Prohibited Activities

You agree to use CheckmateX for its intended purpose and not to:

• Use cheating tools, external chess engines, or any form of computer assistance during online games against other players
• Harass, threaten, abuse, or send inappropriate, offensive, or hateful messages to other users
• Attempt to exploit, hack, reverse-engineer, or interfere with the Service or its infrastructure
• Create multiple accounts to manipulate ratings, leaderboard rankings, or matchmaking
• Impersonate another user, person, or entity
• Use automated scripts, bots, or scrapers to access the Service
• Upload or transmit viruses, malware, or any harmful code
• Violate any applicable local, national, or international laws or regulations
• Intentionally lose games (sandbagging) to manipulate your rating
• Stall, abandon, or disrupt games to frustrate opponents

Violations of these rules may result in warnings, temporary suspensions, permanent bans, and/or rating resets at our sole discretion.

5. Fair Play Policy

CheckmateX is committed to fair, competitive play. Using chess engines (such as Stockfish, Leela Chess Zero, or any analysis tool) during online games against human opponents is strictly prohibited. We employ anti-cheating detection systems that analyze move patterns, timing, and statistical anomalies. If our systems flag your account for suspected cheating, we may investigate and take action including rating rollback, game annulment, temporary suspension, or permanent ban. Repeated offenses will result in permanent removal from the platform.

6. Intellectual Property

All content, graphics, user interface design, code, trademarks, logos, and other intellectual property within CheckmateX are owned by CheckmateX or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works from, publicly display, or otherwise exploit any part of the Service without our prior written consent. Chess game data (moves and results) from your own games may be exported for personal use.

7. User-Generated Content

When you submit content through CheckmateX (such as chat messages, profile information, or game annotations), you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, display, and distribute that content in connection with the Service. You are solely responsible for any content you submit and must ensure it does not violate any third-party rights or these Terms. We reserve the right to remove any content that violates our policies without prior notice.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

CheckmateX is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise. We specifically disclaim all implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or free of viruses or other harmful components. Your use of the Service is at your sole risk.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, CheckmateX and its developers, officers, employees, and affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of data, loss of revenue, loss of goodwill, or damages arising from your use of or inability to use the Service. Our total liability for any claims arising from or related to the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid us (if any) in the 12 months preceding the claim. This limitation applies regardless of the legal theory on which the claim is based.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless CheckmateX, its developers, and affiliates from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any rights of a third party.

11. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any disputes arising under these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in India. If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

12. Termination

We may terminate or suspend your access to CheckmateX at any time, with or without cause and with or without notice. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including intellectual property, disclaimer, limitation of liability, and indemnification) shall survive.

13. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of CheckmateX after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. We encourage you to review these Terms periodically for any updates.

14. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us at rohitvinod.dev@gmail.com or visit our Contact page.