Welcome to nearChess! These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the nearChess mobile application (“App”) and services (“Services”), including features for discovering nearby chess players, clubs, tournaments, real-time matchmaking, challenges, and community interactions. nearChess, Inc. (“nearChess,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) provides the App to connect chess enthusiasts.
By downloading, installing, or using the App, you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, and any supplemental guidelines. If you are under 13 (or higher age in your jurisdiction), you must have parental consent. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.
1. Eligibility and Account
- To create an account, provide accurate information. You are responsible for maintaining confidentiality of your login and all activity.
- We may suspend or terminate accounts for violations, inactivity, or at our discretion.
2. License and Use of the App
- We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-sublicensable license to use the App for personal, non-commercial purposes on approved devices (iOS/Android).
- Prohibited Uses: Do not reverse-engineer, modify, distribute, or use bots/scrapers. Comply with all laws.
- Updates: We may auto-update the App; continued use requires acceptance.
3. User Conduct and Community Guidelines
- Be respectful: No harassment, hate speech, threats, or discrimination based on race, gender, etc.
- In Games/Interactions: No cheating (e.g., external aids), spam challenges, or false profiles. Report violations via in-App tools.
- Content Rules: Do not post illegal, obscene, or infringing material. We may monitor for safety but are not liable for user content.
- Safety: Meetups are at your risk; use common sense and share details with trusted contacts.
4. User-Generated Content
- You retain ownership of your profile, messages, game logs, and posts (“UGC”).
- By posting UGC, you grant us a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, and display it for operating/improving Services (e.g., in leaderboards or promotions).
- You warrant UGC is original, does not violate third-party rights (e.g., copyrights, privacy), and complies with Terms.
- We may remove objectionable UGC without notice. Back up your data—we are not responsible for loss.
5. Intellectual Property
- The App, logos, chess variants, and all original content are owned by us or licensors, protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws.
- You may not use our trademarks without permission. Feedback you provide is assigned to us for use.
- We respect IP rights and respond to DMCA notices: Submit to hi@nearchess.com with required details (e.g., infringing material description, your contact).
6. Third-Party Services
- The App integrates third parties (e.g., Apple/Google for payments, mapping via Google Maps). Their terms apply; we are not liable for them.
- Links to external sites are for convenience—use at your own risk.
7. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability
- Services provided “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” without warranties (express/implied) of merchantability, fitness, or accuracy.
- We do not guarantee uninterrupted access, error-free play, or that matches will be fair/safe.
- To the fullest extent permitted, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential damages (e.g., lost games, emotional distress, physical injury from meets) arising from use.
- Liability capped at $100 or amounts paid in last 12 months. Some jurisdictions limit this.
8. Termination
- You may delete your account anytime (via settings), but data retention follows our Privacy Policy.
- We may terminate access for violations, with or without notice.
9. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
- Governed by Delaware, USA laws (without conflicts principles).
- Disputes: First, informal negotiation (30 days). Then, binding arbitration via AAA (no class actions). Venue: Delaware courts for injunctive relief.
10. Changes to Terms
- We may update Terms; changes posted in App and on nearchess.com. Continued use = acceptance. Significant changes emailed.
11. Contact Us
nearChess, Email: hi@nearchess.com