Terms of Service
Rules for accounts, fair play, content, and using Ember Chess.
Version 1.4 · Effective 2026-10-02
Agreement and eligibility
By creating or continuing to use an account, you accept these Terms and our Community Guidelines and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You must be at least 13 years old and meet any higher minimum age required where you live. Ember Chess does not currently operate a parental-consent program for younger users.
Your account
Provide an appropriate username, keep your password confidential, and tell us at [email protected] if you suspect unauthorized use. Do not impersonate others, evade an enforcement action, manipulate ratings, or use accounts together to boost, sandbag, or collude.
The chess service
Ember Chess offers live human games, approximate-strength computer opponents, training assistance for computer games, and game review. Human ratings are platform ratings by time-control category, not FIDE ratings. Approximate bot labels are not certified Elo ratings. Ember Chess does not award official FIDE titles based on its ratings. Computer games are unrated. Paid features are not currently active.
Fair play and community
Do not use an engine, outside move selection, or another prohibited form of assistance during competitive human games. Do not collude, boost, sandbag, or disrupt games. Suspicious play may be investigated using game, timing, engine, and account patterns; high accuracy alone is not proof of cheating. Confirmed cheating may lead to an immediate game forfeit, a voided result, and a rating adjustment after staff review. Follow the Community Guidelines. Competitive banter alone is not a violation, but harassment, hate speech, threats, scams, and other prohibited conduct are.
Your content and our materials
You keep ownership of content you submit, including chat, reports, and profile pictures you have the right to share. You grant Ember Chess a limited license to host, display, crop, resize, process, preserve, and review it as needed to operate games, safety systems, moderation, and legal compliance. Ember Chess branding and original artwork remain ours; open-source components retain their respective licenses. Do not reuse our materials beyond applicable rights.
Enforcement and appeals
We may warn, restrict chat, suspend, or ban accounts after considering severity, context, and history. Serious conduct may lead to immediate action. Reports do not automatically establish a violation. Available sanctions may be appealed through the in-product appeal flow or [email protected].
Availability and responsibility
Ember Chess is in active development and may change or be interrupted. We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability. The service is provided “as is” and “as available” to the extent applicable law permits. To that same extent, Ember Chess is not responsible for indirect or consequential losses from using the service; nothing here limits rights or liability that applicable law does not allow us to limit.
Tournament participation
Community events are unofficial and Casual. Ember Official events may be Rated or Casual. Joining an event accepts pairing with any eligible entrant, including someone blocked socially. Tournament points are separate from platform rating; unplayed administrative forfeits do not change rating. Organizers may cancel an unstarted event; authorized staff may intervene and correct results with an audit trail.
Live viewing
Signed-in players may watch public tournament games live. Ordinary human games are private unless both players allow live viewing for that game. Either player can withdraw that permission at any time. Spectators cannot play moves or access game chat. Live-view permission does not change completed-game history visibility.
Changes and contact
We may update these Terms. Material changes can require a fresh, explicit acceptance before normal account use continues. The current version and effective date appear on this page. Contact [email protected] with questions.
Questions?
Contact [email protected].