Terms of Service

Last updated: 24 June 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of chessblues.com and related services (the "Service"), operated by Chess Blues ("Chess Blues", "we", "us"). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms.

1. Eligibility & accounts

You must be able to form a binding contract to use the Service. You are responsible for your account credentials and for activity under your account. Provide accurate information and keep it up to date.

2. The Service

Chess Blues provides chess lessons, tactics puzzles, engine-assisted game analysis, and AI coaching. Coaching and analysis are provided for educational purposes and may contain errors; they are not guaranteed to be correct or to improve your results.

3. Premium & billing

  • A free plan is available. It includes a limited number of uses of each Premium feature, after which that feature requires a subscription.
  • Premium is a monthly subscription, taken by our payment provider PayFast at the price shown at checkout. You are charged when you subscribe and then automatically each month at the agreed monthly price until you cancel. When the seven-day introductory offer is selected, its upfront payment is credited in full toward your first monthly payment. Subsequent payments use the regular monthly rate. The next payment is never earlier than seven days after your confirmation email. The amounts and dates are shown before checkout.
  • You can cancel anytime from your profile. Billing stops and you keep Premium until the end of the access period you have already paid for, after which your account returns to the free plan. Your card details are entered on PayFast's secure page and are never stored by us.
  • US dollar prices are estimates for convenience. Payments are charged in South African Rand. Your bank applies its own conversion rate and may add a fee. The Rand amount is shown on the pricing page before you pay.
  • Prices may change; any change applies only to future purchases.

4. Cancellation

You can cancel your subscription at any time from your profile. Billing stops at the end of the access period you have already paid for, you keep Premium until then, and after that your account returns to the free plan. You may also stop using the Service at any time and delete your account from your settings page.

5. Refunds & cooling-off

If you want a refund, email support@chessblues.com within 7 days of your payment and we will refund it in full. You do not need to give a reason.

This reflects section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, which gives you the right to cancel an electronic transaction within 7 days and receive a refund. Nothing in these Terms limits statutory consumer rights that apply to you, including under the Consumer Protection Act.

See Support for how to reach us.

6. Acceptable use

  • Do not misuse the Service, attempt to disrupt it, or access it by unauthorised means.
  • Do not resell, scrape, or redistribute the Service or its content without permission.
  • Do not upload unlawful content or infringe others' rights.

7. Intellectual property

The Service, including its original lessons, artwork, and software, is owned by Chess Blues or its licensors. Open-source and third-party components are credited on our Licenses & Credits page and remain under their respective licenses. Chess Blues is independent and not affiliated with Chess.com or Lichess.

8. Disclaimers

The Service is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind to the extent permitted by law. We do not warrant that coaching or analysis is accurate, uninterrupted, or error-free.

9. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Chess Blues is not liable for indirect or consequential losses, and our total liability is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim. This does not exclude liability that cannot be excluded by law.

10. Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or terminate access for breach of these Terms or to protect the Service.

11. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of South Africa, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules.

12. Contact

Questions about these Terms: support@chessblues.com.