Subscription Policy

At a Glance

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1. Introduction

Welcome to the ChessOx Subscription Policy. ChessOx (accessible at https://www.chessox.com/), operated by Phoenix Brothers, Tamil Nadu, India ("ChessOx", "we", "us", or "our"), provides an interactive online chess platform featuring multiplayer matches, rated tournaments, puzzles, tactical training, and social community forums.

This Subscription Policy sets forth the terms and conditions governing the purchase, activation, benefits, pricing, and operational rules of ChessOx Premium memberships and coin packs. Please read this policy carefully before purchasing any Premium package.

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2. Scope and Acceptance of Policy

This policy applies to all registered users who purchase, attempt to purchase, or use any ChessOx Premium membership or coin bundle on our platform.

By clicking "Proceed to Payment", selecting a package on the Premium page, or completing a transaction via our payment provider, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by:

1. This Subscription Policy;
2. Our Terms & Conditions; and
3. Our Refund Policy.

If you do not agree to these terms, do not initiate or authorize any payment on ChessOx.

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3. Explanation of ChessOx Premium

ChessOx Premium is an optional visual prestige and virtual utility enhancement tier for chess enthusiasts. Premium status grants players distinct visual profile recognitions (such as golden badges and avatar frames), forum privileges, and an immediate grant of virtual wallet coins that can be utilized to enter competitive coin-entry chess tournaments.

Premium membership does not provide unfair gameplay advantages or engine assistance during live rated games, as fair play is strictly enforced across all player tiers.

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4. One-Time Purchase Model

Important Clarity: ChessOx Premium packages operate strictly on a One-Time Purchase Model.

• Every package purchase on ChessOx is an isolated, individual transaction.
• ChessOx does not operate a recurring subscription service.
• We do not establish recurring billing cycles (e.g., monthly, quarterly, or annual automatic debits).
• No standing instructions, e-mandates, or automatic renewals are registered against your UPI ID, bank account, debit card, or credit card.
• Each payment covers only the specific package selected at checkout.

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5. Available Premium Packages and Coin Grants

ChessOx offers three clearly defined Premium packages. The pricing and coin allocations are as follows:

Notes on pricing and packages:

• All listed prices are in Indian Rupees (INR / ₹).
• Displayed prices are final one-time amounts inclusive of applicable taxes unless explicitly indicated otherwise.
• The coin grants consist of base package coins plus bundled introductory bonus coins as specified above.
• Package amounts and coin quantities are subject to platform adjustments; however, any changes will only apply to future purchases and will not retroactively affect previously completed transactions.

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6. Payment Processing Through Razorpay

All monetary transactions and checkouts on ChessOx are processed securely through Razorpay Software Private Limited ("Razorpay"), an authorized payment aggregator in India.

Supported Payment Methods

Depending on your banking institution and Razorpay availability, supported payment options include:

• Unified Payments Interface (UPI): Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, BHIM, and other standard UPI apps.
• Internet Banking: Netbanking accounts across major public and private Indian banks.
• Credit & Debit Cards: Visa, MasterCard, RuPay, and Maestro cards issued by authorized banks.
• Digital Wallets: Leading supported mobile wallets.

Data Security Commitment

ChessOx does not capture, store, or process your sensitive financial credentials. Your debit/credit card numbers, expiry dates, CVVs, netbanking passwords, and UPI PINs are entered directly onto Razorpay's PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant secure payment checkout. ChessOx receives only transaction status tokens, order references, and payment confirmation identifiers.

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7. Payment Confirmation and Premium Activation

When you select a Premium package on the ChessOx website:

1. Order Generation: An order is created via the Razorpay Orders API.
2. Checkout: You authorize and complete payment through the Razorpay checkout overlay.
3. Cryptographic Verification: Upon payment settlement, Razorpay returns a cryptographic signature. Our backend verifies this cryptographic payload to ensure payment integrity.
4. Immediate Crediting: Upon successful settlement verification, your account is immediately updated with Premium membership status and the purchased coin allocation is credited to your wallet balance.

Processing Delays: While activation typically occurs instantaneously, occasional network interruptions, banking downtime, or payment gateway settlement delays may cause a brief latency. If your coins or badge do not appear within 15 minutes of payment deduction, please refer to Section 15 and Section 17.

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8. Wallet Coin Credit and Usage

Coins credited through Premium packages represent digital platform utility units designed solely for use within the ChessOx platform.

• Tournament Entry: Coins are primarily used to pay entry fees for competitive, coin-entry chess tournaments hosted on ChessOx.
• In-Game Utility: Coins possess utility exclusively within the platform and carry no independent cash or fiat value outside ChessOx.
• Non-Transferable: Coins cannot be transferred, gifted, traded, or sold between user accounts.
• Withdrawal Limitations: Virtual coins purchased through Premium packages cannot be directly withdrawn back to bank accounts as cash. Only verified tournament prizes won in compliance with our Withdrawal Policy are eligible for withdrawal.

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9. Premium Membership Benefits

Purchasing a ChessOx Premium package grants the following distinct privileges:

Cosmetic and Social Distinctions

• Golden Crown / Premium Badge: An exclusive visual badge displayed next to your username on player leaderboards, profile pages, and active match views.
• Golden Avatar Border: An ornamental golden profile ring highlighting your avatar across the platform.
• Community VIP Flairs: Special visual indicators on ChessOx forums and community chat channels signifying your supporter status.

Virtual Coin Grant

• Direct credit of the designated coin balance (310, 610, or 1,310 coins based on the purchased tier) to your wallet.

Transparent Clarification: Free Platform Features

To prevent any misunderstanding, ChessOx explicitly clarifies that the following core platform features are 100% Free for all registered players and are not restricted to Premium members:

• Unlimited Tactical Puzzles: Solving puzzles, puzzle training modes, and tactical rating evaluations are accessible to every registered player without charge.
• Stockfish Engine Analysis: Interactive chess engine evaluation, move quality assessments, and deep analysis powered by Stockfish are freely available to all users.
• Platform Advertising: ChessOx may display contextual third-party advertisements (such as Google AdSense) to support free platform operations. Ad-free browsing is not currently an exclusive feature of the Premium package.

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10. Premium Access Duration

Under the current technical architecture of ChessOx:

• When a Premium package is purchased, your Premium membership status is activated in our database without a predetermined expiration timestamp ('current_period_end' remains unset/null).
• As a result, Premium visual privileges (badge, golden frame, forum flairs) remain active on your account indefinitely for as long as your account remains in good standing.
• Legal Distinction: This technical implementation reflects our current system design and does not constitute an irrevocable perpetual legal warranty against future platform updates, technical restructuring, or feature modifications. If ChessOx introduces time-limited terms in the future, reasonable advance notice will be provided to the community.

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11. No Automatic Renewal

ChessOx does not employ recurring billing or automatic renewal mechanisms:

• You will never be automatically billed at the end of 30 days, one year, or any other interval.
• We do not store continuous recurring payment mandates on your bank account or payment card.
• If you wish to acquire additional coins or renew your support in the future, you must deliberately initiate a new one-time purchase.

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12. No Recurring Subscription Charges

Because ChessOx utilizes exclusively one-time payments:

• There are no surprise monthly debits, recurring maintenance charges, or periodic membership dues.
• No recurring subscription contract is formed between you and ChessOx.
• You have complete financial control over every single transaction made on the platform.

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13. Cancellation and Account Closure

No Subscription to Cancel

Because there is no recurring billing schedule, automated payment mandate, or recurring fee, there is no subscription to cancel or unsubscribe from. You do not need to hunt for a "Cancel Subscription" button in your settings to prevent future charges.

Voluntary Account Closure

If you wish to terminate, close, or delete your ChessOx user account, you may request account closure by emailing contact@chessox.com or help@chessox.com from your registered email address.

Consequences of Account Closure:

• Account closure permanently deletes or anonymizes your public profile and ranking data.
• Any remaining unused wallet coins or active visual badges associated with the closed account are immediately and irreversibly forfeited upon closure without entitlement to refund or cash reimbursement.

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14. Refunds and Refund Eligibility

Purchases of ChessOx Premium packages and virtual coins are digital transactions that are activated immediately upon payment settlement. Consequently, refund requests are strictly governed by this policy and our Refund Policy:

Eligible Circumstances

• Technical Non-Delivery: If your bank account or UPI handle was successfully debited, but our system failed to credit your Premium status and coins, and our technical support team cannot resolve the delivery within 48 hours of notification.
• Proven Duplicate Charges: If an identical transaction was charged multiple times in rapid succession due to a technical network or payment gateway error, the duplicate payment will be refunded upon verification.

Ineligible Circumstances

• Used Coins: If any portion of the coins granted with the package has been spent, entered into tournaments, or utilized in matches, the transaction is strictly non-refundable.
• Change of Mind: Refunds are not provided for change of mind, dissatisfaction with match outcomes, or personal disuse of the platform.
• Fair Play & Code of Conduct Violations: If your account is suspended, muted, or banned for cheating, computer assistance, toxicity, or terms violations, no refund will be issued.

Technical Note on Refund Processing: Under our current platform implementation, processing a refund through the payment gateway does not automatically debit wallet coins or revoke visual badges via automated webhooks; manual administrative reconciliation may be carried out by our administrative team.

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15. Failed, Pending and Duplicate Payments

Failed Transactions

If funds are deducted from your bank or payment app but the ChessOx page displays a transaction failure or error:

• The payment aggregator (Razorpay) and your issuing bank typically initiate an automatic reconciliation and reversal within 5 to 7 business days.
• Please verify your bank account statement after this reconciliation window.

Pending Transactions

During peak banking hours, payment confirmations may remain pending for a brief period. Please allow up to 2 hours for payment gateway webhook reconciliation before attempting a new purchase.

Duplicate Transactions

If you observe two debits for a single package purchase:

1. Contact us immediately at help@chessox.com;
2. Provide your registered username and the Razorpay Payment IDs ('pay_...') for both debits;
3. Our billing desk will verify the ledger and initiate a refund for the duplicate transaction within 3 to 5 business days.

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16. Payment Disputes and Chargebacks

We encourage players to reach out directly to ChessOx Support before initiating a chargeback or dispute with their credit card company or banking institution.

• Good-Faith Resolution: We are committed to swiftly investigating and resolving genuine payment errors, uncredited coins, or duplicate debits.
• Fraudulent Disputes: Initiating a bank chargeback or dispute after consuming the granted virtual coins, entering tournaments, or utilizing premium badges is considered fraudulent misuse. ChessOx reserves the right to immediately suspend any account associated with fraudulent chargebacks and to report such conduct to relevant payment security networks.

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17. Incorrect Coin Credit and Payment Support

In the rare event that the number of coins credited to your wallet differs from the advertised package (e.g., 310 coins for Gold, 610 coins for Platinum, 1,310 coins for Maharaja):

1. Send an email to help@chessox.com or contact@chessox.com;
2. Include your registered username, registered email, purchase date, and the Razorpay Payment ID ('pay_...');
3. Our support team will inspect the transaction logs and credit any missing coins to your wallet within 24 to 48 hours.

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18. Premium Feature Changes and Availability

ChessOx is continuously growing and enhancing its gaming environment. We reserve the right to:

• Modify, update, or refresh visual badges, borders, forum flairs, and cosmetic assets;
• Adjust tournament structures, entry coin limits, or prize distributions;
• Introduce new platform features or phase out obsolete technical systems.

Any modifications will be undertaken in good faith to improve the overall quality, balance, and security of the platform.

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19. User Responsibilities and Prohibited Misuse

When purchasing and utilizing ChessOx Premium, you agree:

• To use only payment instruments (UPI IDs, bank accounts, cards) that you are legally authorized to use;
• Not to engage in unauthorized payment testing, fraudulent recharge schemes, or automated checkout manipulation;
• Not to exploit system vulnerabilities, bugs, or calculation errors to artificially inflate coin balances;
• To adhere strictly to platform rules, respectful community conduct, and fair play principles.

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20. Account Suspension and Termination

ChessOx enforces a strict Zero-Tolerance Policy against cheating, unauthorized engine analysis during live rated games, account sharing for ratings manipulation, harassment, and fraud.

• Violation Consequences: If an account holding Premium status is suspended or permanently terminated for violating our Terms & Conditions or Fair Play & Anti-Cheating Policy, all premium badges, forum privileges, and remaining coin balances are permanently forfeited.
• No Compensation: Terminated or suspended accounts are not entitled to partial refunds, full refunds, or financial compensation of any kind.

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21. Service Availability and Technical Issues

While we strive to maintain 99.9% platform availability:

• ChessOx does not warrant that the website, tournament engine, or payment infrastructure will operate completely uninterrupted, bug-free, or without temporary downtime.
• Routine maintenance, infrastructure upgrades, emergency patches, or third-party cloud outages may cause temporary downtime.
• Temporary platform downtime does not entitle users to monetary refunds, cash rebates, or warranty claims.

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22. Privacy and Payment Data

Your privacy is paramount to us. All personal data collected in connection with your purchases is handled strictly in accordance with our Privacy Policy:

• We collect only the minimal user identifying data necessary to process your transaction and credit your account (such as user ID, registered email, and transaction references).
• As detailed in Section 6, all sensitive banking and card details are handled exclusively by Razorpay; ChessOx never stores or has access to your full payment card details or banking passwords.

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23. Changes to This Policy

We may periodically revise or update this Subscription Policy to reflect changes in legal regulations, payment processor requirements, or platform features.

When revisions occur:

• We will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy;
• Continued use of ChessOx or completion of new purchases following any policy update constitutes your complete acceptance of the revised terms;
• If you disagree with any modifications, you may refrain from making further purchases on the platform.

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24. Contact and Customer Support

For any questions, payment inquiries, coin verification requests, or billing clarifications, please contact our support team:

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25. Relationship With Terms & Conditions and Refund Policy

This Subscription Policy operates in conjunction with and forms an integral part of the ChessOx Terms & Conditions and Refund Policy.

• In the event of any conflict or ambiguity between this Subscription Policy and the general Terms & Conditions regarding the specific mechanics of one-time premium purchases, coin grants, or payment processing, the provisions of this Subscription Policy shall prevail with respect to those specific matters.
• For issues concerning general platform usage, chess gameplay, account eligibility, and intellectual property, the Terms & Conditions shall govern.
• For all detailed refund timelines, chargeback rules, and consumer escalation procedures, the Refund Policy shall govern.