1. Program Initiation
There are no sign-up fees or long-term contractual obligations. Access to the subscription program begins with a trial period unless otherwise stated. Subscriptions may be modified, paused, or canceled at any time using the Manage Plan form.

1.1 Trial Period
The Group Class Program includes a 10 consecutive calendar day trial period beginning on the sign-up date.

During the trial, participants may attend (1) one in-person group class per week and (2) one play night. Online classes and other premium features are not available during the trial period. Trial access constitutes limited program access and defines all services available during the trial. Trial periods may be waived upon request at Texas Chess Center’s discretion.

Trial periods may not be paused and will not be extended for unused services. To avoid charges, cancellation must occur before the end of the 10-day trial. After the trial ends, the selected subscription plan activates automatically, charges apply, and no refunds or extensions are available for unused services. There is no trial available for the ChessKid, Youth Play, Adult Play, or Competitive Play Pass subscriptions.

2. Subscription Management

2.1 Cancellation
To cancel a subscription, customers must submit a request through the Manage Plan form using the email associated with their billing account. Cancellations take effect at the end of the current billing cycle. Cancellation does not result in refunds, store credit, or prorated charges.

2.2 Billing & Renewal
Subscriptions renew automatically each month on the original payment date unless canceled. Billing information and payment methods must be managed through the Stripe customer portal. There are no fees to sign up, cancel, pause, or switch plans. Auto-renewal cannot be disabled except by cancellation.

2.3 Pausing Your Subscription
Subscriptions may be paused for a minimum of 1 month and a maximum of 3 months. Pause requests must be submitted through the Manage Plan form before the next billing date to take effect. Pauses longer than three months are treated as cancellations. When submitting a request, customers must clearly indicate whether they wish to pause or cancel their subscription.

3. Refund Policy
Subscription programs are non-refundable. Texas Chess Center does not offer refunds, store credits, or prorated refunds for any subscription charges. Customers are expected to use the trial period to determine whether the program meets their needs.

3.1 No Refund Scenarios
Refunds will not be issued due to (1) technical issues during online classes, (2) forgetting to cancel a subscription, (3) non-attendance or lack of use, or (4) charges incurred after a paused period ends if the subscription was not canceled.

4. Child Safety & Supervision
Texas Chess Center staff supervise students during scheduled class times and ensure orderly dismissal at the conclusion of each session. Students under age 10 must be signed in and out by a parent or legal guardian. Students age 10 and older may check themselves in and out only with parental permission. If a parent or guardian allows a child to arrive or leave independently, they acknowledge that Texas Chess Center is not responsible for supervision before check-in or after class ends. While staff make reasonable efforts to monitor students as they exit, parents and guardians are responsible for their child’s safety outside scheduled class hours, including time spent on or near the property.

5. Referral Program
Current Group Class Program members may be eligible for a referral bonus if they refer a new customer who enrolls online in a qualifying group class subscription plan. Eligible referrals may result in a $50 check or account credit, issued at Texas Chess Center’s discretion. Referral eligibility is determined solely by Texas Chess Center. Self-referrals, duplicate accounts, and household members may be excluded. Referred subscriptions must remain active beyond any applicable trial period for the referral to qualify. Referral bonuses are not guaranteed and may be modified or discontinued at any time.

6. Additional Information
-Subscriptions renew monthly on the original payment date.
-There are no fees for signing up, canceling, pausing, or switching plans.
-A $25 monthly discount is available for each additional sibling when the sibling add-on is selected at checkout.
-Texas Chess Center reserves the right to modify subscription offerings, pricing, benefits, and policies with reasonable notice.

1. Registration
Registration is done on our website and closes 2 hours before the scheduled tournament start time. Players who want to register after this cutoff may receive a first-round bye at the Tournament Director’s (TD) discretion. National Masters (NM) and above play for free in non-FIDE tournaments, please contact us for registration.

1.1 Eligibility
Players must be familiar with US Chess rules and have an active US Chess membership. Subject to event limitations, players of all ages and ratings are welcome. By registering, you confirm:
-Your US Chess membership is active, current, and in good standing
-You agree to follow all tournament rules.
-If your membership is expired you cannot play until renewed; if not active by round 1 pairing, the player is provided with bye(s) or withdrawn with no refund.

1.2 US Chess IDs
Each player must register with their own US Chess ID. Ratings are tracked by US Chess through participation in rated events.

2. Refund Policy

2.1 FIDE & Championship Tournaments
A full refund is issued if canceled more than 48 hours before the start time of the 2-Day schedule. A 50% refund is issued if canceled between 48 hours and 2 hours before the start. No refunds are issued within 2 hours of the start or for no-shows.

2.2 Scholastic, Blitz & Weekly Swiss Tournaments
A full refund is issued if canceled at least 2 hours before the start. No refunds are issued within 2 hours of the start or for no-shows.

2.3 Cancellations & Refund Processing
Cancellations and withdraws must be emailed or otherwise communicated before the applicable deadline. Refunds are typically processed within five business days. Norm tournaments follow the refund policies listed on their individual registration pages.

2.4 Competitive Pass or Premier Subscription Players
Missed events are not eligible for refunds. Missed tournaments without prior notice result in:

(1) a warning for the first offense,
(2) a three-month subscription suspension for the second offense, and
(3) loss of eligibility to use any subscription benefits that provide full tournament entry discounts. If a player uses a Competitive Pass or Premier Subscription registration code

Registrations made with a Competitive Pass or Premier Subscription code are only valid if your pass/subscription is active on the tournament date. If you cancel, entries remain valid only for tournaments occurring within your current billing period; tournaments after cancellation require the standard entry fee or reinstatement.

For example, If you register while active, then cancel a week later, any tournaments after the cancellation date are no longer valid unless you pay the standard fee or reactivate.

3. Ratings, Section Placement & Pairings
-Regular Rating (Monthly) refers to the most recent published US Chess Regular rating.
-Live Rating refers to the current US Chess rating as of the most recently rated event.
-Peak Rating refers to the highest rating ever achieved and is not used for eligibility.
-Section Floor refers to the minimum Regular rating eligible for a section.
-Section Cap (Ceiling) refers to the maximum Regular rating eligible for a section.
-Playing Up refers to entering a section above the one a player’s current rating normally qualifies for.

3.1 Section Placement
Players are placed into sections based on their Regular (Published Monthly) US Chess rating as of the tournament start date. Unrated players are placed in the lowest section by default unless the TD approves alternate placement based on verified evidence of playing strength.

3.2 FIDE to USCF Conversion Formula
Players with a US Chess unrated rating (never played a US Chess rated tournament) may request placement using a verified FIDE or substantiated online rating. If FIDE is 2000 or below, USCF is calculated as −1073 + 1.5667 × FIDE. If FIDE is above 2000, USCF is calculated as 20 + 1.02 × FIDE.

3.3 Scholastic Tournaments
Only students in grades K–12 are permitted to play in scholastic tournaments. Scholastic players may only play up within their own grade category.

3.4 Live Rating Cap Enforcement
Any player whose Live Regular rating exceeds a section’s cap by 150 points or more must automatically play up.

4. Playing-Up Policy

4.1 Rating-Based Eligibility
A player may request to play up if
(1) their Regular or Live rating is within 150 points of the next section’s floor, in which case a play-up fee applies, or
(2) their Regular or Live rating meets or exceeds the next section’s floor, in which case no play-up fee applies. Peak ratings may not be used for playing-up eligibility.

Examples for a tournament with Open and U1800 sections are as follows:
A) A player with a Monthly rating of 1620 and Live rating of 1739 is eligible to play up.
B) A player with a Monthly rating of 1620 and Live rating of 1647 is not yet eligible.
C) A player with a Monthly rating of 1620 and Live rating of 1809 is eligible with no play-up fee.

4.2 Blitz & Quick Tournaments
Pairings and section placement are always based on Regular ratings. A Blitz or Quick rating may be used only to waive the play-up fee if it is at least 150 points higher than the player’s Regular rating and meets the higher section’s floor.

4.3 Alternate Ratings
FIDE, Chess.com, Chesskid.com, lichess.org, or other foreign federation ratings may not be used to play-up if the player already has a US Chess rating. Alternate ratings may be considered only if the player is unrated with US Chess; if a player has a FIDE ID then the conversion formula in 3.2 is used. Substantiated online ratings must come from established accounts with sufficient game history, at TD discretion.

Unrated players must disclose any FIDE or foreign ratings at registration, and the TD may verify and reassign sections accordingly based on our policies. Failure to disclose relevant ratings may result in reassignment, forfeiture of prizes, or removal without refund.

4.4 TD Discretion
Tournament Directors reserve the right to deny any playing-up request or reassign a player to a different section for competitive balance or tournament integrity.

5. FIDE Registration Rules
To participate in FIDE tournaments, players must complete the registration form and obtain a FIDE ID, or contact US Chess to request one. An official FIDE rating requires at least five games against previously rated FIDE players, a minimum score of 0.5 points, and a performance rating of 1400 or higher. The first three GMs or IMs to register are guaranteed a minimum prize of $200 (GM) or $100 (IM), valid until the late fee deadline; participants must play all rounds. Players with a FIDE rating of 2300 or higher (FM and above) may play for free.

6. Tournament Transfers
Transfers are permitted once per registration for Weekly tournaments only. Transfer requests must be made before the applicable refund cutoff. Once a transfer is completed, the registration becomes non-refundable and no refunds may be issued at any point in the future. Any price difference between events must be paid. Transfers must be to an event occurring within 90 days.

7. Byes & Missed Rounds
Players must notify staff as soon as possible if unable to play a round. Half-point byes must be requested before the start of the preceding round. Late requests receive zero-point byes. Round 1 bye requests must be made before registration closes or before pairings are posted.

8. Prize Claims
Players have up to six (6) months from the tournament date end to claim prizes before they expire.

9. Scholastic Supervision & Liability
Texas Chess Center, operated by Titled Chess, does not provide child care and supervises players only within the official tournament area.

10. Tournament Rules can be found at https://www.texaschesscenter.com/tournaments under rules.

Severe Weather Policy: In the event of local school district closures due to weather, all in-person activities will be canceled or rescheduled as needed. Regular online activities will continue as normal unless otherwise stated.

Book Rental Policy: The standard book rental duration is a 1-month duration, which begins on the day of checkout. Book rentals are included in standard and premier plan members. If books are not returned by the due date, the company will charge the card on file for the retail price of the book if not returned after 2 months from the checkout date.

Behavior Policy: Disruptive behavior includes damaging property, causing physical harm, violating company policies, and repeated violations of US Chess rules. Progressive steps include initial warnings and written warnings via email. Continued disruptive behavior may result in consequences such as a 1-month suspension without a refund. Removal from the program is the final step if disruptive behavior persists.

Seasonal Camps: Full camp refunds are available until Thursday at 11:59 p.m. before the camp week.

Private Lessons: All private lessons must be prepaid, and a card must be kept on file to secure your appointment. Payments for taught lessons are non-refundable, and lesson packages are non-refundable, including any unused lessons.

You may cancel or reschedule a lesson up to 24 hours before the scheduled start time without penalty. Cancellations made with less than 24 hours’ notice, or a failure to attend, will result in a full charge. In the event of weather-related or center closures, you will receive a no-penalty reschedule.

Coaches will wait up to 15 minutes for late arrivals. After that time, the lesson will be considered a no-show, and the session will still end at the originally scheduled time. Lessons booked from a package may be rescheduled only once per appointment and must be taken within seven days, subject to coach availability.

Requests to change the lesson location or format (online or in-person) must be made in advance and are subject to coach and space availability. Coaches will communicate about private lessons only through company email or phone and will not use personal contact information. At-home lessons are not offered.

School Programs: If a class is canceled due to weather conditions, we will make every effort to schedule a make-up session in collaboration with your school. While we cannot guarantee a make-up date, we always strive to find a suitable alternative. Refunds are available prior to the second day of the program; however, there are no prorated refunds for students who withdraw after the program begins. Students are not able to make up missed classes outside of the predetermined program schedule.

Refund Policy for Physical Store Goods: To be eligible for a refund, you must present a valid proof of purchase (digital receipt) from our store. Food and drinks items are strictly non-refundable for reasons of health and safety.

Refunds will not be provided for products damaged due to misuse or negligence. Refund requests for physical store items must be made within 30 days of the original purchase date.

To request a refund, please visit our store in person with the product and your proof of purchase. Our staff will inspect the product and verify the eligibility for a refund. If eligible, refunds will be issued to the original payment method used for the purchase. We reserve the right to deny a refund if the product does not meet our refund criteria.