Terms of Service

Last updated: 26 July 2026

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") govern your access to and use of Strong Squares: the web application available at strongsquares.com (the "Service"). Please read them carefully. By using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy. Purchases are additionally governed by our Refund Policy.

1. Who we are

The Service is operated by Strong Squares, with its registered address at Reykjavík, Iceland (referred to in these Terms as "Strong Squares", "we", "us", or "our"). You can reach us at support@strongsquares.com.

Strong Squares is a chess training environment: structured courses distilled from the great chess books, exercises with automated feedback, guided master games, an adaptive puzzle arena, and sparring bots.

2. Acceptance of these Terms

You accept these Terms by using the Service, and again explicitly when you create an account or make a purchase. If you do not agree with these Terms, please do not use the Service.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are under the age of legal majority where you live, you may use the Service only with the consent of a parent or legal guardian, who agrees to be bound by these Terms on your behalf. By using the Service, you confirm that you meet these requirements.

4. Your account

You can explore the free portion of the Service without an account. An account (email address and password) is required to save and synchronise your learning progress and ratings across devices. You can also sign in with Google; sign-in with Apple may be offered in the future.

You are responsible for keeping your credentials confidential and for all activity under your account. Please give us accurate information and keep it up to date. If you suspect unauthorised use of your account, contact us promptly at support@strongsquares.com.

5. Plans, prices, and billing

Strong Squares offers a free tier (the first two units of each track) and paid "Pro" access, which unlocks the full course: every track and level, the puzzle arena, and the sparring bots:

A student discount of 50% is available on subscription plans, subject to verification of student status. Prices are stated before any applicable taxes; the exact amount, including tax, is shown at checkout.

When payments launch, they will be processed by Polar as Merchant of Record. This means Polar is the seller of record for your purchase: Polar handles payment processing, payment data, invoicing, and applicable taxes, and your purchase is also subject to Polar's checkout terms. We never see or store your card number.

Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period until cancelled. You can cancel at any time; cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid period, and you keep access until then. If we change our prices, the change will apply to your subscription only from the next renewal, and we will give you reasonable advance notice.

6. Cancellations and refunds

Cancelling your subscription stops future renewals; it does not, by itself, trigger a refund for the current period. Refunds are governed by our Refund Policy, which also explains your statutory withdrawal rights where they apply. Nothing in these Terms limits any statutory rights you have as a consumer.

7. Your licence to use Strong Squares

Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the Service for your own personal, non-commercial study and practice. This licence ends when your access ends or when these Terms are terminated.

8. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

9. Intellectual property

All content and materials in the Service: including the course texts, lessons, exercises, board diagrams, analysis, designs, and software: are owned by Strong Squares or licensed to us, and are protected by copyright and other intellectual-property laws. Where our lessons draw on published chess literature, they present our own distilled explanations and analysis, not reproductions of those works. The Strong Squares name and mark may not be used without our prior written permission.

Apart from the limited licence in Section 7, no rights in the Service or its content are granted to you.

10. User content and reports

The Service lets you submit reports, feedback, and potentially other content (such as practice data). You retain ownership of anything you create. However, by submitting it, you grant us a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, process, and display it as necessary to provide and improve the Service. Please do not include personal information you would not want us to process for that purpose.

The trusted-coach feature is for a learner and one person they already know. It must not be used to contact strangers, solicit children, harass another person, or share unsafe or unlawful material. A learner under the age of legal majority must have permission from a parent or legal guardian before inviting a coach. Either party may remove the private relationship immediately.

11. Privacy

How we handle your personal data is described in our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms.

12. Availability and disclaimer

We work to keep Strong Squares available and correct, but we cannot promise perfection. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or available at any particular time, and we may modify, suspend, or discontinue features with reasonable notice where practicable. This section does not exclude warranties or guarantees that cannot be excluded under applicable law. We are also not liable for any failure or delay in providing the Service caused by events beyond our reasonable control, such as natural disasters, industrial disputes, or widespread internet outages.

13. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, STRONG SQUARES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR FOR LOSS OF DATA, PROFITS, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. Our total aggregate liability for all claims relating to the Service is limited to the amount of fees you paid to us in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold Strong Squares harmless from any claims, losses, damages, or legal fees arising out of your use of the Service in violation of these Terms or your violation of any third-party rights.

15. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will give you notice by email and/or by a prominent notice on the Service before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Service after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree, you may stop using the Service and, if applicable, cancel your subscription.

16. Termination

You may stop using the Service, or delete your account, at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access if you materially breach these Terms, if required by law, or if we discontinue the Service; where reasonably possible, we will give you notice. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, and 17) survive it. To protect our systems and minimize data retention, we may also delete free accounts and their associated data after a prolonged period of inactivity (typically 12 months or more), but we will attempt to notify you by email before doing so.

17. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of Iceland, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. If you are a consumer, you also benefit from any mandatory protections of the law of the country where you live, and nothing in this section deprives you of them.

18. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

19. Contact

Questions about these Terms: support@strongsquares.com. Billing questions: refunds@strongsquares.com. Privacy questions: privacy@strongsquares.com.

We're a human company: there are no support tickets or robots to answer you. That means genuinely good, personal customer service; it also means it may take us a day or two to get back to you.