Terms & Conditions

At a Glance

1. Agreement to Terms

These Terms & Conditions constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Phoenix Brothers (operating Chessox.com), governing your access to and use of the platform, including playing chess, solving puzzles, courses, tournaments, community chats, and wallet features.

By creating an account or using ChessOx, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to these terms. If you do not agree, you must immediately cease using the platform.

2. Player Accounts & Eligibility

• 2.1 Age Requirements: You must be at least 13 years old. If you are between 13 and 17, you confirm you have verifiable parental/guardian consent. Cash prize competitions are strictly restricted to users aged 18 and older.
• 2.2 Registration Information: You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete registration details and to update them promptly.
• 2.3 Account Security: You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activities under your account. Notify us immediately at contact@chessox.com of any unauthorized access.
• 2.4 One Account Policy: Each player may operate only one account. Operating multiple accounts to manipulate ratings, evade sanctions, or farm tournament prizes leads to permanent termination of all accounts.

3. Acceptable Use and Prohibited Conduct

You agree that you will NOT:

• Use chess engines (Stockfish, Leela, etc.), AI bots, endgame databases, or outside human assistance during live games.
• Manipulate chess ratings, match results, leaderboards, or tournament brackets through sandbagging, win-trading, or collusion.
• Harass, threaten, stalk, abuse, defame, or impersonate other players, arbiters, or staff members.
• Post, upload, or transmit illegal, abusive, obscene, sexually explicit, hateful, or copyrighted content.
• Deploy automated scrapers, bots, crawlers, or exploits against platform infrastructure.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to other accounts, server APIs, or private databases.

Violations are actively enforced under our Fair Play & Anti-Cheating Policy and Community Policy.

4. User Content and Communications

You retain ownership of the text, bio details, comments, and posts you submit. By posting content on ChessOx, you grant Phoenix Brothers a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to host, display, and distribute that content across the service.

You confirm that your content does not violate applicable laws or third-party rights. We reserve the right to remove any user content that violates our standards without prior notice.

5. Intellectual Property Rights

• ChessOx Property: The platform design, logo, branding, graphics, user interface, software code, puzzle database, and written learning materials are the exclusive property of Phoenix Brothers and protected by copyright and trademark laws.
• Limited License: We grant you a revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access ChessOx for personal, non-commercial chess play and study. You may not copy, scrape, modify, redistribute, or reverse-engineer any part of the service.
• Public Domain Chess: Chess rules, opening names, historical board positions, and standard algebraic notation are universal and belong to everyone.

6. Games, Ratings, and Results

All game moves and tournament standings are validated and recorded by our game servers. The server record is the sole authoritative source of truth. We reserve the right to correct ratings and reverse game results affected by cheating, technical malfunctions, or connection exploitation.

7. Coins, Wallet, and Premium Memberships

• In-Platform Coins: Coins are virtual digital items for platform entertainment, entry into eligible events, and cosmetics. Coins have no monetary value outside ChessOx and cannot be traded on third-party markets.
• Premium Membership Packages: Optional paid packages provide in-platform coin grants and prestige visual flair (profile crown badge, golden avatar borders, and forum tier badges). All packages are sold on a one-time purchase basis and do not automatically renew. Puzzles and Stockfish engine analysis are accessible free of charge to all players. Full terms governing packages and payments are set forth in our Subscription Policy.
• Wallet Balances: Eligible cash winnings in tournament wallets may be withdrawn subject to our Withdrawal Policy and mandatory identity verification.

8. Payments and Taxes

• Payments for subscriptions, tournament entries, and coin packs are processed securely by PCI-DSS compliant third-party gateways (Razorpay, UPI, credit/debit cards). ChessOx never stores full card details.
• Prices displayed include applicable taxes (e.g. GST in India). You are responsible for any personal income taxes arising from cash tournament prizes.
• If a charge is disputed or fraudulently charged back, we reserve the right to suspend the account and recover associated amounts.

9. Account Suspension and Termination

We reserve the right to suspend, restrict, or terminate your account immediately if you breach these Terms, our Fair Play Policy, or applicable laws. Upon termination for gross violations, all accrued virtual items, balances, and tournament rights are forfeited. You may voluntarily close your account at any time through Account Settings.

10. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

• "As-Is" Service: ChessOx is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied.
• Limitation of Liability: To the maximum extent permitted by law, Phoenix Brothers shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages, lost profits, or data loss arising from your use of the service.

11. Third-Party Links & Services

The platform may contain links to third-party services (social media, payment portals). We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or terms of third-party websites.

12. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms & Conditions periodically. Material changes will be notified at least 14 days in advance via platform notification or email. Continued use of ChessOx following changes constitutes acceptance.

13. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

14. Contact Information