1. Program Initiation
1.1 Getting Started:
There are no sign-up fees or long-term contractual obligations. Limited access to the program begins with a trial period. You can modify your subscription at any time using the Manage Plan form.

1.2 Trial Period:
Your free trial lasts for 10 consecutive calendar days, starting from your sign-up date. You may take one Group Class trial per week (Monday-Sunday). Online classes and other premium features will become available after your trial period ends. You can not pause before your trial ends.

— The trial period may be waived upon request.
— Play Memberships do not include a trial period.
— After the 10-day trial, your selected subscription plan will activate automatically, and regular charges will apply, granting full program access.
— Trial periods will not be extended if services are not used.

2. Subscription Management
2.1 Cancellation:
To cancel your subscription, use our Manage Plan form. Enter the email linked to your Stripe billing account, select "Cancel," and confirm. Cancellations take effect at the end of the current billing cycle.

2.2 Billing Information Updates:
Manage your billing details and payment methods through your Stripe account portal. Subscriptions renew automatically each month. The auto-renewal feature cannot be disabled.

2.3 Pausing Your Subscription:
Subscriptions can be paused for 1 to 3 months. Pauses longer than 3 months will be treated as cancellations. Requests to pauses must be made by the Manage Plan Form.

When requesting a pause, customers must specify whether they wish to pause or cancel.

3. Customer Support
3.1 How to Contact Us:
For support, please fill out the Contact Form available on our website. A link to this form is also included in your program welcome email.

4. Refund Policy
4.1 General Policy:
We do not offer refunds, store credits, or prorated refunds for subscription programs. Please use the trial period to determine if the program suits your needs.

4.2 No Refund Scenarios:
Refunds will not be issued under the following circumstances:

— Technical issues during online classes
— Forgetting to cancel the subscription
— Not attending classes or services
— Charges incurred after a paused period ends (customers should cancel if they no longer intend to participate)

Additional Information:

— Your subscription renews monthly on your original payment date.
— There are no fees for signing up, canceling, pausing, or switching plans.
— Receive $25 off per month for each additional sibling by selecting the sibling add-on during checkout.
— Manage your plan anytime through the Manage Plan form.

Severe Weather Policy: In case of local school district closures due to weather, all in-person activities will be moved online or rescheduled.

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. Refunds will not include any shipping or delivery charges unless the return is due to our error. If you believe you received a defective or damaged product, please notify us immediately, and we will address the issue separately.

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.

Tournament Registration: Initial Registration must be done on our website. The registration deadline for the tournament is 2 hours before the scheduled start time. Players who register after this cutoff may receive a bye for the first round. If a player is familiar with the rules and possess an active US Chess ID, you're eligible to participate. Players of all ages and skill levels are welcome.

Players obtain a chess rating through the United States Chess Federation (USCF) by participating in rated tournaments. The US Chess ID is unique to each player, facilitating tracking of progress, tournament history, and rating adjustments. NM+ (National Master and above) play for free in our non-FIDE tournaments.

Tournament Refund Policy: For FIDE-rated and championship tournaments, participants are eligible for a full refund if they cancel more than 48 hours before the tournament begins. If cancellation occurs between 48 hours and 2 hours before the start time, a 50% refund will be issued. No refunds are provided for cancellations made within 2 hours of the tournament start time or for no-shows.

For scholastic, blitz, and weekly Swiss tournaments, a full refund is available if cancellation is made at least 2 hours before the start time. No refunds are issued for cancellations within 2 hours of the start time or for no-shows.

To cancel your registration, please send an email before the applicable deadline. Refunds are typically processed within five business days. Norm tournaments follow separate refund policies, which are listed on their respective registration pages. For players on a subscription plan, missing a tournament without prior notice will result in a warning for the first offense. A second offense will lead to a suspension of the subscription. Missed tournaments are not eligible for refunds.

Section Placement & Pairings: Upon registration, all players will, by default, be placed into whichever tournament section corresponds with their current Monthly rating. Unrated players will, by default, be placed in the lowest section, though if evidence of higher strength can be produced, the TD is encouraged to reassign the Unrated player to a more fitting section. In similar manner, players who are approved to play up will be reassigned to the section above their normal rating bracket.

For Scholastic tournaments, play-up ability is more limited, as grade groupings cannot be mixed. In these tournaments, playing up is possible only when a player is playing up to a section of the players same grade grouping. For pairing purposes within sections, all tournaments will still use Monthly ratings, with any anomalous exceptions falling under TD discretion.

Commitments and Missed Rounds: Inform us as soon as possible if you cannot play a round. Half-point byes are available if requested before the start of the preceding round. If not requested in time, the bye will be worth zero points. 

FIDE Registration Rules: To participate in FIDE tournaments, fill out the registration form, and get a FIDE ID. Alternatively, contact USCF to request an ID. Official FIDE rating requires playing five games against previously rated FIDE players, scoring at least a half point, and achieving a performance rating of 1400 or higher. FM+ play free! Fill out a contact request form on our website to register.

Playing Up: You may request to compete in a higher section for an additional fee if you meet the criteria below.

1 ) If either your Monthly or Live (or even Provisional) rating is within 150 points of the floor of the section above you, then you qualify to play up. Furthermore, if your Live/Provisional actually meets or exceeds the next section’s floor, you can play up without paying a fee at all.

- Example A: If you want to play in an 1800+ section, and your Monthly rating is 1620, but your Live rating is 1739... then you are eligible to play up, because even though your Monthly rating is not in the 150-point range, your Live rating is!
- Example B: If you want to play in an 1800+ section, and your Monthly rating is 1620, but your Live rating is 1647... then you’re not yet eligible to play up, because neither your Monthly rating nor your Live rating are quite in the 150-point range yet. But who knows, maybe just one more tourney will get your Live rating over the hump in time for the next one!
- Example C: If you want to play in an 1800+ section and your Monthly rating is 1620, but your Live rating is 1809... then you’re eligible to play up with no fee at all, because you’ve already earned the 1800+ privilege directly on the chessboard!

2) If you don’t have a USCF rating yet, but you do have a FIDE rating or substantiated online chess rating, you can request to play up based on that alternate rating, provided that it is reasonably correlated with the section that you’re seeking. (The FIDE conversion formula we use is [USCF = (-1073 + 1.5667*FIDE if FIDE ≤ 2000) OR (20 + 1.02 × FIDE if FIDE > 2000)].

Prize Claims: Players have up to six (6) months from the tournament date to claim their prize winnings before they expire.