Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Local Rook (“the Platform”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform. We reserve the right to update these terms at any time; continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.

2. Description of Service

Local Rook is a free platform for discovering, sharing, and reviewing locations where people play chess over-the-board (OTB). The Platform allows users to:

• Submit and edit chess venue listings
• Rate venues using a chess-piece rating system
• Connect with other chess players via direct messaging
• Track venue activity and freshness

The Platform is provided “as-is” at no cost. We make no guarantees regarding the accuracy of venue information submitted by users.

3. User Accounts

You may register using Google, GitHub, or email and password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity under your account. You must be at least 13 years old to use the Platform.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms, engage in spam, or harm other users.

4. User-Generated Content

You retain ownership of content you submit. By submitting content (venue details, ratings, messages, photos), you grant Local Rook a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display and distribute that content within the Platform.

You agree not to submit content that is:

• False, misleading, or fraudulent
• Spam, advertising, or unsolicited commercial content
• Illegal, defamatory, or violating any third-party rights
• Harmful to minors or other users

All content edits are recorded in an audit trail for moderation purposes.

5. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape excessively, or abuse API rate limits
• Impersonate other users or entities
• Use automated bots to submit venues or ratings
• Interfere with the Platform's infrastructure or security
• Harass, threaten, or intimidate other users via messaging

6. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

The Platform is provided without warranty of any kind. Venue information is user-submitted and may be inaccurate or outdated. Local Rook is not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Platform.

We do not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted access to the Platform.

7. Privacy

Your use of the Platform is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

8. Termination

You may delete your account at any time from Settings → Privacy. We may terminate or suspend access for violations of these terms without prior notice.

Upon account deletion, your personal data is removed and your community contributions (venue edits, ratings) are anonymised, not deleted.

9. Open Source

Local Rook is open-source software. The source code is available under the MIT License. Using the Platform does not grant you any additional intellectual property rights over the codebase.