Terms

Who we are

You can reach Check-mates at support@check-mates.app.

The service

Check-mates helps people find and organise over-the-board chess games at real venues. We connect players; we don't run the games or the venues themselves.

Who can use it

You must be 16 or older to use Check-mates. One account per person: don't create accounts for someone else or keep more than one. Keep your profile information accurate, keep your sign-in method secure, and tell us if you suspect someone else is using your account — you're responsible for what happens under it.

Accepting these terms

By creating an account, or by tapping to accept in the app, you confirm that you are 16 or older and agree to these terms and our privacy policy. If we change these terms in a way that matters, we'll ask you to accept the new version in the app before you continue.

Content and conduct

Check-mates has zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive users. In your profile, messages, chats and anywhere else in the service, don't post or send:

• harassment, bullying, threats or intimidation;
• hate speech or content that attacks people for who they are;
• sexual or sexually suggestive content;
• spam, advertising or scams;
• content that impersonates another person or organisation;
• anything illegal, or that breaks someone else's rights.

Treat other players and venue staff with respect, at the board and online. Cheating, fake results and repeatedly not showing up for games you agreed to also count as abuse. You keep ownership of what you post; you allow us to store and show it only to run the service for you and the players you interact with.

Reporting and blocking

You can report a player and block them from inside the app; blocking stops them contacting you. You can also email support@check-mates.app. We review every report within 24 hours. Depending on what we find we may warn the player or suspend the account, temporarily or indefinitely. Suspended accounts are signed out everywhere and can't sign back in. Illegal content or threats lead to immediate suspension and may be passed on to the police.

Results and ratings

Only record games that were actually played, with the real result. Don't make up games, agree results in advance or use other accounts to inflate a rating. Doing so is grounds for suspending the accounts involved. Check-mates OTB ratings are computed from confirmed results for matchmaking and fun; they aren't an official federation rating.

Venues

The venue directory is partly community-sourced, so details can be out of date. Check a venue's own opening hours before travelling. Partner venues are the ones we've verified.

Club pages

Every active club on Check-mates has a public page on check-mates.app and appears in the club directory. The club's officers (its owner and admins) are responsible for what they publish about the club: its name, description, schedule, events and links. Club pages are public and may be indexed by search engines under the same rules for every club; a club can't opt out. In exceptional cases we may hide a page from the web while the club keeps working in the app.

Club pages show facts about the club. Don't copy text from other websites, including the club's own website or a federation's, unless you have the right to: write the description in your own words.

For the club's public page and its public ladder, the club and Check-mates are joint controllers of members' personal data: the club decides to publish its page, and Check-mates runs it, collects members' ladder consent and handles privacy requests (see the privacy policy). The officer who manages the club accepts this for the club or, if the club has no legal personality (for example an informal group), personally.

How we moderate club pages

The content rules above apply to club pages too. Club names, descriptions and announcements pass an automated filter when they are saved; it blocks clear violations. Everything else we act on, such as reports from users and visitors, is reviewed by a person. We may remove a description or announcement, hide a club page or suspend the club.

When we restrict a club page for breaking these terms, we tell the club's officers no later than when the restriction takes effect, unless the content is illegal. Whenever we act against a club's content, its officers receive a statement of reasons: what we restricted, why, whether automated means were involved, and how to ask for a review. To ask for a review, reply to that email and a person will look at it again; you can also go to court.

Reporting a club page

Anyone can report a club page they believe contains illegal content or breaks these terms, using "Report this page" at the bottom of the page. We confirm receipt when you give an email address and tell you our decision. Child sexual abuse material is removed as soon as we see the report and reported to Child Focus and the Belgian federal police. When information suggests a criminal offence that threatens someone's life or safety, we inform the law enforcement or judicial authorities of the Member State concerned, or the Belgian authorities or Europol when that is unclear.

Contact points

Authorities, including Member State authorities, the European Commission and the European Board for Digital Services, can reach us at legal@check-mates.app. Users and visitors can reach us at support@check-mates.app. Both contact points work in English and Dutch.

How the club directory is ordered

In city and country lists and in search results, clubs are ordered by their next club night open to visitors (soonest first; clubs without one come last), then by name. "Clubs near you" is ordered by distance from the location you share, then by name. Nothing else counts, and a club's plan never does. No club pays for its position in these lists; if we ever offer paid visibility, it will be clearly labelled as promoted and kept apart from the list.

Using our content

We reserve the right to text and data mining of the club pages and the club directory (Article 4(3) of Directive (EU) 2019/790): automated extraction of their content, including to train AI models, is not allowed without our permission. Normal search-engine indexing is allowed. Where applicable, the club directory is protected as a database, and you may not extract or re-use substantial parts of it.

Meeting in person

Games happen offline, between people who choose to meet. Only meet in public places such as a café, club or other venue — never at a private address — and tell someone where you're going if you're unsure. We don't screen or vet players. You're responsible for your own safety, belongings and conduct, and Check-mates isn't a party to what happens at a meetup. If something goes wrong, leave, and report the player to us.

Third-party services

If you sign in with Apple or Google, or link a chess.com or Lichess account, your use of those services is governed by their own terms. We aren't responsible for them.

Deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time in the app (Profile › Account & data). See deleting your account for what is removed and what is kept. We may also close or suspend accounts that break these terms or harm other players or the service.

Availability and liability

We provide Check-mates "as is" and "as available". Features may change or be removed, and we don't guarantee the service will always be available or error-free. To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect or consequential damage arising from your use of the service, or for the conduct of other players in or outside the app. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be excluded under Belgian law, or your rights as a consumer.

Governing law

These terms are governed by Belgian law. Disputes fall under the jurisdiction of the courts of Belgium, without prejudice to mandatory consumer protection rules that let you go to the courts where you live.

Changes

We may update these terms. We'll change the "last updated" date above and, for material changes, ask you to accept the new version in the app.

Contact

Questions about these terms, or a report: support@check-mates.app. Privacy questions: privacy@check-mates.app.