Terms of Service

Welcome to ChessChat, operated by VexHex Games, Inc. ("VexHex", "we", "us"). By accessing or using chesschat.gg (the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Who can use ChessChat

You must be at least 13 years old to use ChessChat. If you are under 18, you may use the Service only with permission from a parent or legal guardian.

2. Your account

You may use most of ChessChat without an account. Some features — leaving comments, rating games, claiming custom URLs, and similar — require a free account. You are responsible for keeping your account secure and for activity that happens under it. We use a third-party authentication provider (Clerk) to handle account credentials; we do not see or store your password.

3. Content you upload

ChessChat is a community for sharing chess games. You retain ownership of any chess game (PGN), comment, rating, or other content you submit (your "Content"). By submitting Content, you grant VexHex a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, display, reproduce, and distribute that Content as necessary to operate, promote, and improve the Service.

You agree not to upload Content that:

• infringes anyone else's intellectual property rights;
• contains personal information about anyone without their consent;
• is unlawful, harassing, defamatory, or hateful;
• contains spam, malware, or attempts to compromise the Service.

We may remove Content or suspend accounts that violate these terms, at our discretion and without prior notice.

4. Paid features

Some features are paid (for example, reserving a custom URL or requesting engine analysis of a game). Prices are shown at the point of purchase. Payments are processed by Stripe; we do not store your full payment card details. Paid features are non-refundable except where required by law or where we explicitly state otherwise.

5. Acceptable use

You agree not to abuse the Service, including by: scraping at high volume, circumventing rate limits, attempting to access other users' accounts, reverse engineering security mechanisms, or using the Service in any way that interferes with normal operation.

6. Termination

You may stop using ChessChat at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service if we believe you have violated these terms. On termination, the licenses you granted us in Section 3 survive only to the extent necessary for us to keep operating the Service (for example, not having to immediately delete every Content reference).

7. Disclaimers

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure.

8. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, VexHex Games, Inc., its directors, employees, and contractors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the Service. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the amount you have paid us in the twelve months prior to the claim, or US$100, whichever is greater.

9. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will give reasonable notice (for example, by posting a notice on the Service or by emailing you). Continued use of the Service after the changes take effect means you accept the updated terms.

10. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, USA, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Delaware.

11. Contact

Questions about these terms? Email legal@chesschat.gg.