Terms of Service

Welcome to Lions Chess. By creating an account, accessing, or using the Lions Chess application ("the Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Service.

These Terms form a legally binding agreement between you and Lions Chess. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization.

You must create an account to use most features of the Service. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and to keep your account information updated.

You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and for all activity that occurs under your account. You must notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account. Lions Chess is not liable for any loss or damage arising from unauthorized account access.

You may not transfer, sell, or share your account with another person. One person may maintain only one account.

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Harass, abuse, threaten, or impersonate any other user;
• Post content that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, hateful, or otherwise objectionable;
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service, including servers, networks, or security features;
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service, other accounts, or computer systems;
• Use bots, scripts, or automated tools to interact with the Service except as expressly permitted;
• Collect or store personal data of other users without their consent.

You are responsible for all content you post and all conduct under your account.

Fair play is fundamental to Lions Chess. In any rated online game, tournament game, or competitive pairing, you must play your own moves without outside assistance.

You agree not to:

• Use chess engines, computer analysis, or any artificial intelligence assistance (including Stockfish or similar software) during a rated or competitive game;
• Receive move advice or analysis from another person during a live game;
• Manipulate ratings, including but not limited to colluding with opponents, deliberately losing games ("rating dumping"), or using multiple accounts to inflate ratings;
• Create multiple accounts to circumvent restrictions, bans, or matchmaking fairness;
• Use any tool or method that provides an unfair advantage over other players.

Violations of this Fair Play policy may result in immediate action, including: rating resets, game result reversals, temporary account suspension, or permanent account termination. Lions Chess reserves the right to determine, at its sole discretion, whether a fair-play violation has occurred and what action is appropriate.

Playing against the computer in offline or practice modes is permitted and encouraged — this section applies only to rated online games, tournaments, and competitive pairings.

You may create and post content through the Service, including usernames, profile information, game chat messages, club names and descriptions, club announcements, and tournament content ("User Content").

You retain ownership of your User Content. By posting it on the Service, you grant Lions Chess a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable license to host, store, use, display, reproduce, and distribute that User Content within the Service and for the purpose of operating and promoting the Service.

You represent that you have all necessary rights to your User Content and that it does not violate any law or third-party rights. Lions Chess may review, moderate, edit, or remove any User Content at any time without notice if it believes the content violates these Terms or is otherwise objectionable.

Lions Chess offers a Premium subscription ("Premium") that unlocks additional features. Premium is billed either month-to-month at $9.99 CAD per month or annually at $89.99 CAD per year, according to the plan selected at checkout, and is processed through our payment provider, Stripe.

By subscribing to Premium, you authorize Lions Chess to charge the subscription fee to your payment method on a recurring basis — monthly or annually, matching the plan you selected — until you cancel. Your subscription remains active until the end of the current billing period, even after cancellation.

Cancellation & Refunds: You may cancel your Premium subscription at any time from the Settings or Premium page. Cancellation stops future renewals — your Premium benefits continue until the end of your current paid billing period. Because Premium renews on a recurring basis with no commitment beyond the period you selected, all payments are final and non-refundable. We do not issue refunds or credits for partially used billing periods.

If a payment fails, Lions Chess may suspend Premium access and retry the charge. We are not responsible for fees charged by your bank or payment provider.

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied. Lions Chess does not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or that game results, ratings, or data will always be accurate or preserved.

You use the Service at your own risk. Any reliance on the Service is solely at your own risk.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Lions Chess and its operators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of data, ratings, game history, or profits, arising out of or related to your use of (or inability to use) the Service.

Lions Chess's total aggregate liability for any claim arising from the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid to Lions Chess in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or ten dollars ($10) CAD, whichever is greater.

You may delete your account or stop using the Service at any time. Lions Chess may suspend or terminate your account and access to the Service at any time, with or without cause or notice, including for violations of these Terms or the Fair Play policy.

Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination — including ownership, warranty disclaimers, liability limitations, and governing terms — shall remain in effect.

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you through the Service or by other means. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which Lions Chess operates, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect.

For questions about these Terms, please contact us through the Support option in the app menu.