Legal

These Terms of Use govern your access to and use of the Empower Chess website at empowerchess.in (the “Website”) and any content, classes, tournaments, courses, or services offered on or through it.

Empower Chess is operated by Overgeared AI EDU EXIM Private Limited, a private limited company incorporated in India (CIN: U62099TN2024PTC169004). Empower Chess was founded by Seed Succeed Academy, a Chennai-based chess academy. Current office: 2nd Floor, JK Complex, Jacob Street, Ponniamman Koil Main Road, Madipakkam, Chennai 600091, Tamil Nadu, India.

By accessing the Website or purchasing any service, you agree to be bound by these Terms, our Privacy Policy, and any additional terms communicated to you. If you disagree with any part, please do not use the Website.

Eligibility & Registration

You must be at least 13 years old to register. Users between 13 and 18 may enrol in academy programs with the involvement of a parent or guardian; certain features (such as AI-training or voice-recording uses) additionally require explicit verifiable parental consent under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”) §9. Registration requires accurate name, contact details, and (for minors) guardian contact information. You agree to keep this information current.

Services

Empower Chess provides chess coaching, group and individual classes, tournaments and events, recorded and live courses, and related training material — delivered online and, where stated, in person in Chennai. Specific inclusions, schedules, and fees are described at the point of purchase.

License to Use

You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access the Website and your purchased services for personal, non-commercial use. You may not modify, reproduce, distribute, reverse-engineer, resell, or create derivative works from any content without our explicit written permission.

Code of Conduct

You agree NOT to:

• Use the Website for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law.
• Post or share content that is hateful, defamatory, threatening, harassing, or that incites hatred against any group.
• Engage in spam, scams, impersonation, cheating, or any fraudulent activity.
• Disrupt, damage, or attempt unauthorized access to the Website or its infrastructure.
• Upload or transmit malware or any malicious code.
• Collect or harvest other users’ personal information without consent.

Violations may result in suspension or termination of your account and enrolment without refund where the violation is material.

Intellectual Property

All content on the Website — course material, training frameworks, branding, layouts, software, and designs — is the intellectual property of Overgeared AI EDU EXIM Private Limited or its licensors and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable laws.

Payments

Fees for classes, courses, tournaments, and other services are processed through third-party payment providers (such as Razorpay). We do not store your card or banking details. All fees are quoted in Indian Rupees (INR) and, where applicable, are inclusive of GST. Refer to the Refund & Cancellation Policy below for eligibility.

Disclaimer & Limitation of Liability

The Website and services are provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, express or implied. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Overgeared AI EDU EXIM Private Limited shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the Website or services.

Account Termination

You may close your account or discontinue services at any time by emailing support@empowerchess.in. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Changes to These Terms

We may modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be notified on this page before taking effect. Continued use after revisions constitutes acceptance of the new Terms.

Overgeared AI EDU EXIM Private Limited (“we”, “us”) operates Empower Chess and is the Data Fiduciary for personal data collected through empowerchess.in, within the meaning of the DPDP Act, 2023. This policy explains what we collect, why, and your rights.

Information We Collect

We collect: (a) identity and contact data (name, email, phone, and for minors, guardian details); (b) enrolment and academy data (class attendance, tournament results, game records, progress); (c) payment metadata from our payment processor (transaction IDs, status — never full card numbers); and (d) technical data (device, browser, and basic analytics).

Granular & Verifiable Consent

Consent is granular and purpose-specific. Enrolling in a class does not consent you to marketing, public display, or AI-training uses — each is requested separately and may be withdrawn at any time. For users under 18, sensitive uses require verifiable parental consent (DPDP Act §9).

Children’s Privacy

We do not knowingly process a minor’s personal data in a way likely to cause harm, nor do we track, profile, or behaviourally target minors for advertising. A minor’s games and progress are visible only to the student, their parent/guardian, the assigned coach, and academy administrators by default. Public display of a minor’s content requires explicit parental consent.

How We Use Your Information

To deliver classes and services you enrol in; to process payments; to communicate schedules, results, and service updates; to provide coaching feedback and progress reports; to maintain safety and prevent fraud; and to comply with legal obligations. We do not sell your personal data.

Information Sharing

We share data only with: payment processors (e.g. Razorpay) to complete transactions; communication providers to send you service messages; and authorities where required by law. All processors are bound to use the data only for the contracted purpose.

Cookies

We use strictly necessary cookies for the Website to function and basic, privacy-respecting analytics to understand usage. We do not use cookies to build cross-site advertising profiles.

Your Rights (DPDP Act §11)

You have the right to access, correct, and erase your personal data, to withdraw consent, and to nominate another individual to exercise your rights in the event of death or incapacity. To exercise any right, email support@empowerchess.in. Grievances may be addressed to our Grievance Officer, Sai Prahlad K, at the same address; we respond within statutory timelines.

Security & Breach Notification

We apply reasonable security safeguards. Payments are handled by PCI-DSS-compliant processors; we never store full card details. In the event of a personal-data breach, we will notify the Data Protection Board and affected users as required by the DPDP Act.

Data Retention

We retain personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes above or as required by law (e.g. tax/GST records). Academy game records and aggregate results may be retained as a permanent historical record of the academy; personal identifiers can be anonymised on request.

Updates

We may update this policy; material changes will be posted here.

Classes & Membership Fees

Monthly and term fees may be cancelled before the start of the billing period for a full refund. Once a class or term has begun, fees are non-refundable for sessions already delivered; the unused, un-started portion of a pre-paid term may be refunded on a pro-rata basis at our discretion, less any transaction charges.

Tournament & Event Entry Fees

Entry fees are refundable if you cancel at least 48 hours before the event start, less payment-gateway charges. Cancellations within 48 hours, or no-shows, are non-refundable as the slot and arrangements are committed. If Empower Chess cancels an event, entry fees are refunded in full.

Courses & Digital Products

Recorded courses and digital products are refundable within 7 days of purchase only if you have not substantially accessed the material (less than ~20% consumed). Once substantially accessed or downloaded, digital products are non-refundable.

Recurring Subscriptions (UPI AutoPay / Razorpay)

You may cancel a recurring subscription at any time; cancellation stops future charges. The current paid period remains active until its end and is not refunded pro-rata unless required by law. A charge raised in error will be refunded in full on request.

How to Request a Refund

Email support@empowerchess.in from your registered email with your order/transaction ID and reason. We respond within 3 business days. Approved refunds are issued to the original payment method within 5–7 business days (your bank may take additional time).

Empower Chess primarily delivers digital and in-person services — online classes, live and recorded courses, and tournaments. There is no physical shipment for these.

Digital Delivery

Access to online classes, courses, and event registration is granted electronically — immediately on successful payment, or at the scheduled class/event time. Joining links and confirmations are sent to your registered email/phone.

Physical Items (if any)

Where a physical item (e.g. a trophy, book, or merchandise) is explicitly offered, it is dispatched within 7 business days to the address you provide and typically delivered within 5–10 business days within India via a standard courier. Any shipping charges are shown at checkout.

Issues with Delivery

If you do not receive access or a dispatched item within the stated window, email support@empowerchess.in and we will resolve it promptly.