Terms Of Use

Terms of Use — ChessMotive

Last updated: September 23, 2026

Support: cybersparrowgames@gmail.com

These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your use of ChessMotive (the "App"), provided by Dmitrii Iakovenko under the Cyber Sparrow Games name ("Cyber Sparrow Games," "we," "us," or "our").

These Terms apply to the App on iOS and iPadOS and, when the compatible App is made available there, macOS. ChessMotive does not currently offer an Android version. Platform-specific provisions apply only to the Apple device, App Store, or service concerned.

By downloading, accessing, or using the App, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the App. Nothing in these Terms limits rights that cannot lawfully be limited, including mandatory consumer rights available in your country or region.

1. Educational purpose

ChessMotive is an independent educational chess application. It provides guided lessons, tactical puzzles, mistake review, offline computer opponents, historical master-game replay, progress tools, and optional turn-based games with friends through Apple Game Center.

As of the date above, the App's catalogue includes 80 core lessons, 750 puzzles, six offline computer opponents, and 161 historical master games from CC0-licensed sources. It also offers three separate advanced courses with 24 lessons each. Content availability may depend on the free tier, Core Premium, Premium Lifetime, or a separate advanced-course purchase as described below.

The App is not an accredited school, tournament organiser, chess federation, rating authority, professional coaching service, or wagering service. It does not award an official chess title or rating and does not guarantee improvement, tournament results, admission, employment, prizes, or any other particular outcome.

Chess theory, historical metadata, puzzle explanations, local engine suggestions, and automated analysis may contain mistakes or allow more than one reasonable interpretation. They are provided for learning and entertainment. You remain responsible for decisions made in competitive play or other settings.

2. Eligibility and minors

The App is intended for a general audience and is not specifically directed to children under 13.

If you are below the age at which you may enter into a binding agreement in your country, a parent or legal guardian must review and accept these Terms on your behalf. A parent or guardian must authorise purchases and optional Game Center use by a minor where required.

3. Accounts and Apple services

No separate ChessMotive or Cyber Sparrow Games account is required.

Purchasing, managing, or restoring paid access requires the Apple Account associated with the App Store. Optional games with friends require Apple Game Center authentication. Apple provides and controls those accounts and services, not Cyber Sparrow Games.

You must be authorised to use the relevant Apple Account, Game Center profile, device, and payment method. Do not attempt to use another person's account or payment method without permission.

4. App licence and Apple terms

For the App obtained through Apple's App Store, Apple's Standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement ("Standard EULA") governs the software licence. The Standard EULA is currently available at:

https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

These Terms provide additional conditions concerning ChessMotive's educational content, paid access, advanced courses, Game Center features, privacy, and support. They do not replace or reduce rights granted by Apple's Standard EULA or mandatory law. Apple's applicable Media Services Terms and Conditions, App Store Usage Rules, Game Center terms, and other Apple service terms also apply.

Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/

The App is licensed, not sold. No ownership of the App, its software, or its protected content is transferred to you.

5. Free functionality and Core Premium

The App includes free functionality and may offer optional Core Premium access.

The current free tier includes access to:

36 of the 80 core lessons;
a rating-balanced selection of 250 of the 750 puzzles;
three of the six offline computer opponents;
26 of the 161 historical master games; and
ordinary local progress and settings needed to use those features.

Current Core Premium benefits include:

all 80 core lessons;
all 750 puzzles;
all six offline computer opponents;
all 161 historical master games;
mistake-review access; and
the other core Premium features described on the purchase screen.

Core Premium may be obtained through an auto-renewable monthly, six-month, or annual subscription. Premium Lifetime provides a one-time, non-consumable unlock for the same core catalogue and core Premium scope described in the version offered to you.

The App's starting-level choice changes recommendations and ordering; it does not create a separate purchased content tier. The purchase screen and App Store product information describe the current benefits included in each offer and take precedence if the available presentation has changed.

We may correct, reorganise, add, replace, or remove individual lessons, puzzles, explanations, illustrations, master-game groupings, or computer-opponent presentation. We will not intentionally remove the essential substance of an active paid offering except where reasonably necessary for legal, security, quality, licensing, or technical reasons and subject to applicable consumer law.

6. Separate advanced courses

The Calculation, Strategy, and Endgames advanced courses are separate from Core Premium and Premium Lifetime. Each currently contains 24 lessons, and the first eight lessons in each course are available as a free sample.

The remaining lessons may be unlocked by purchasing the individual course or the All Advanced Courses bundle. Each is a one-time, non-consumable purchase.

Core Premium and Premium Lifetime do not unlock the paid portion of an advanced course.
Buying an advanced course or the bundle does not unlock Core Premium.
The current bundle contains the three advanced courses listed above, for 72 lessons in total.
The bundle does not include future advanced courses unless the App Store product description expressly says otherwise.

The exact product name, included content, localised price, currency, taxes, and availability are shown before purchase.

7. Subscription plans, prices, and renewal

Where Core Premium subscriptions are available, ChessMotive may offer monthly, six-month, and annual auto-renewable plans. Each plan provides the same core access for a different billing period unless the purchase screen expressly states otherwise.

The exact plan name, billing period, price, currency, taxes, included benefits, and any introductory offer are displayed by Apple before purchase. No free trial, discount, or introductory offer exists unless Apple expressly shows it for your account.

Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. A subscription renews automatically for the selected billing period unless you cancel it through Apple before renewal. Apple may process the renewal charge shortly before the next subscription period begins. Price changes, billing, consent, grace periods, and renewal handling are governed by Apple's rules and applicable consumer law.

Deleting the App, stopping use, changing devices, or deleting local progress does not cancel a subscription.

8. Managing and cancelling subscriptions

You can manage or cancel a subscription through your Apple Account subscription settings. Cancel before renewal to avoid the next charge. If Apple offers a free or discounted trial, follow Apple's displayed cancellation deadline and instructions.

Manage or cancel Apple subscriptions: https://apps.apple.com/account/subscriptions

After cancellation, Core Premium normally remains available until the end of the period already paid for, unless Apple, applicable law, a refund, or the relevant offer provides otherwise.

Buying Premium Lifetime does not automatically cancel an existing subscription. If you buy Lifetime while a subscription is active, you remain responsible for cancelling the subscription through Apple if you do not want it to renew.

9. Lifetime and advanced-course purchases

Premium Lifetime, individual advanced courses, and the All Advanced Courses bundle are one-time, non-consumable purchases associated with the Apple Account used to buy them.

These products do not expire merely because time passes, but access may be unavailable if Apple cannot verify the entitlement or if the transaction is refunded, revoked, reversed, or affected by store or account restrictions. Access remains subject to App availability, compatibility, licensing, mandatory law, and these Terms.

"Lifetime" means the supported lifetime of the ChessMotive App and the purchased core offering; it does not guarantee perpetual operation of a particular device, operating-system version, App Store service, or third-party platform.

10. Restoring purchases and multiple devices

Eligible purchases may be restored by using the same Apple Account used for the original purchase and the App's Restore Purchases function where available.

Restoring checks existing Apple purchase entitlements. It does not create a new purchase or intentionally charge you again. Paid access may remain unavailable if the entitlement has expired, been refunded or revoked, belongs to another account, is restricted by Apple, or cannot currently be verified.

Learning progress, settings, mistake reviews, and offline game history are stored locally and do not currently synchronise through a ChessMotive account. Restoring paid access therefore does not necessarily restore those items on another device. Apple's separate device-backup features may restore App data according to your Apple settings and are not ChessMotive cloud sync.

11. Refunds

Cancelling a subscription does not automatically request or guarantee a refund.

Apple handles billing and refund requests for purchases made through the App Store. Submit eligible refund requests through Apple's Report a Problem service or other Apple process available in your country. Refund eligibility is governed by Apple's policies and applicable law.

Request a refund from Apple: https://reportaproblem.apple.com/

Nothing in these Terms excludes mandatory refund, cancellation, warranty, or consumer-protection rights.

12. Game Center games with friends

ChessMotive may offer optional turn-based games with friends through Apple Game Center. These features require Game Center authentication and an internet connection and may be unavailable because of Apple account restrictions, parental controls, network conditions, service interruptions, device compatibility, or regional availability.

Game invitations, player identity, participant matching, turn storage, match delivery, and match records are operated by Apple. ChessMotive sends chess move history and game status through Game Center so participants can continue the same match. The App does not provide its own chat, public profile, friend directory, or multiplayer server.

You must use Game Center lawfully and comply with Apple's terms. Do not harass other players, manipulate matches, exploit service defects, submit malformed or automated match data, impersonate another player, or interfere with another person's access.

We do not guarantee that a friend will accept an invitation, complete a match, remain available, or receive every turn immediately. Apple may restrict or terminate Game Center access independently of ChessMotive.

13. Privacy, local data, and permissions

Our Privacy Policy at https://sites.google.com/view/privacechessmotive/main explains how information is processed.

The App includes Google Firebase Analytics. In the production App, analytics is enabled by default and may begin collecting app-usage and technical information on first use, without a separate startup consent window. You can turn analytics off or back on in Settings. Turning it off does not limit the App’s ordinary features or paid access. Turning analytics off stops future collection by the App but does not automatically erase information already sent to Google.

When enabled, Firebase Analytics may process app-use events, lesson and puzzle outcomes, basic App and device information, a pseudonymous app-instance identifier, IDFV where available, coarse geography, and limited purchase or subscription event information. We do not use it for advertising or cross-app tracking. The iOS integration uses Firebase Analytics Core without Apple’s AdSupport framework and denies advertising storage and personalisation in the Firebase SDK. The current integration is not intended to collect IDFA. We do not combine App analytics data with data from other companies for targeted advertising or advertising measurement, and we do not provide personal information to data brokers. Details and controls are described in the Privacy Policy.

We require service providers that process data on our behalf, including Google for Firebase Analytics, to provide the same or equivalent protection described in the Privacy Policy and required by applicable law.

Learning progress, settings, mistake reviews, and offline games are primarily stored locally on your device. The App does not currently provide account-based cloud synchronisation for this learning data. Uninstalling the App, changing devices, clearing App data, losing a device, or an unsuccessful backup restoration may therefore result in data loss.

The App does not display third-party advertising, use cross-app advertising tracking, request microphone or speech-recognition access, or send learning activity to a runtime generative-AI provider.

14. Intellectual property, open-source software, and data sources

Rights in the App's original software, design, graphics, illustrations, localisation, explanations, exercise structure, selection, arrangement, and original educational material belong to Cyber Sparrow Games or the relevant rights holders.

The App also contains or uses third-party and open-licensed materials under their respective licences. These include the Arasan chess engine, chess-piece artwork, fonts, Lichess puzzle records, and CC0 historical game records. Applicable notices and licences are available in the App or accompanying project documentation.

The 161 master games are factual game records imported from pinned CC0 sources. ChessMotive's chapter grouping and interface do not reproduce book commentary or claim ownership of the underlying historical moves and facts.

Third-party and open-source components remain subject to their own licences. Nothing in these Terms removes rights granted directly to you by an applicable open-source or public-domain dedication.

15. Acceptable use

Except where permitted by applicable law or an applicable third-party licence, you must not:

copy, redistribute, sell, sublicense, or commercially exploit the App or substantial parts of its protected content;
systematically extract, scrape, reproduce, or republish the lesson, puzzle, or master-game catalogue as presented by the App;
bypass paid-access controls, falsify entitlements, or interfere with purchase verification;
reverse engineer, disassemble, or modify the App in violation of applicable law or licence terms;
remove proprietary or licence notices;
impersonate Cyber Sparrow Games or misrepresent the source of the App;
introduce malware, exploit service defects, or interfere with the App, StoreKit, or Game Center; or
use the App unlawfully.

These restrictions do not override mandatory rights or rights granted by applicable open-source licences.

16. Third-party services and links

The App uses Apple services and may open third-party websites, including subscription management, Game Center interfaces, licence terms, privacy information, and support pages. When analytics is enabled, Google provides Firebase Analytics as described in the Privacy Policy.

Third-party services are controlled by their respective operators. We do not control their availability, accuracy, security, terms, or privacy practices. Visiting or using them is subject to their own terms and policies. A link or integration does not necessarily mean that the third party sponsors or endorses ChessMotive.

17. Updates and availability

We may release updates to improve lessons, puzzles, analysis, accessibility, security, compatibility, or compliance with Apple requirements. Some updates may require a supported operating system, compatible Apple device, internet connection, or newer App version.

Most lessons, puzzles, master-game replay, and games against local computer opponents are designed to work offline after the App and content are installed. Purchases, restorations, subscription management, Game Center, external links, App Store delivery, and some entitlement checks require Apple services and an internet connection.

The App or particular features may occasionally be unavailable because of maintenance, network problems, Apple service interruptions, verification failures, licensing changes, security concerns, or circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

We may discontinue the App or a feature, subject to applicable law and obligations relating to active paid access.

18. Disclaimer of warranties

The App is provided as an educational and entertainment tool on an "as is" and "as available" basis to the extent permitted by law.

We do not guarantee that:

all lessons, puzzles, historical metadata, explanations, or engine suggestions are complete, accurate, current, or error-free;
the App will improve your chess rating or competitive results;
every Game Center invitation or turn will be delivered without delay;
the App will operate without interruption on every device or operating-system version;
every feature or item of content will remain available indefinitely; or
using the App will produce a particular learning outcome.

Nothing in this section excludes warranties, consumer guarantees, or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded. Applicable warranty provisions in Apple's Standard EULA remain in effect.

19. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we are not responsible for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential loss arising from use of the App, inability to use it, loss of locally stored progress, reliance on educational content or automated analysis, purchase-verification failure, or interruption of Apple services.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including liability for fraud, intentional misconduct, or mandatory consumer guarantees.

20. Misuse and termination

We may restrict access where reasonably necessary to address fraud, unlawful activity, material misuse, payment reversal, unauthorised paid access, malformed Game Center data, or interference with security or operation.

Any action affecting paid access remains subject to Apple rules, the purchase status, mandatory law, and rights already acquired for the paid period.

You may stop using and uninstall the App at any time. Subscription cancellation must be completed separately through Apple.

21. Governing law and disputes

To the extent that a choice of law is permitted, these Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Armenia, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

This choice does not deprive you of mandatory consumer protections or rights to bring a claim before a court or dispute-resolution body available under the law of your habitual residence.

Before commencing formal proceedings, you may contact us so that we can attempt to resolve the issue informally.

22. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms to reflect changes to the App, paid offerings, Apple requirements, or applicable law. The current version will be published at https://sites.google.com/view/termschessmotive/main with an updated date.

Where required, we will provide additional notice or request acceptance before a material change takes effect. Changes will not retroactively reduce rights already acquired for a paid period where prohibited by law.

If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply to the extent permitted by law.

23. Contact

For questions about the App, these Terms, Game Center, or paid access:

Dmitrii Iakovenko

Cyber Sparrow Games

Email: cybersparrowgames@gmail.com

For payment questions, state that Apple was used. Do not send passwords, full payment-card details, purchase receipts or tokens, or verification codes.

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