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This document has not been reviewed by a solicitor. Do not remove the noindex tag or publish this page until it has been legally approved.
Terms of Use
Last updated: 14 July 2026
These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Checkmate Charlie website at checkmate-charlie.com and its associated content and services (the "Service"). By accessing the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms.
⚠ Requires legal review before publishing:
Confirm the legal entity name, registered address, and governing jurisdiction. Also review whether these terms need to comply with consumer protection laws in your target markets (South Africa, EU, US, UK).
1. About Checkmate Charlie
Checkmate Charlie is a chess education brand created by Charlize van Zyl, a Woman International Master (WIM). The Service provides free educational content for young children aged 4+, including videos, songs, printable worksheets, interactive games, and blog articles. The Service is operated by Charlize van Zyl ("we", "us", "our").
2. Who May Use the Service
The educational content on this site is designed to be used by children aged 4+ under the supervision of a parent, guardian, or teacher.
User accounts and newsletter subscriptions are for adults only — specifically parents, guardians, and teachers acting on behalf of children. By creating an account or subscribing to the newsletter, you confirm that you are at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction).
⚠ Requires legal review before publishing:
Consider adding an age-verification checkbox to the account creation and newsletter signup flows (e.g. "I confirm I am 18 or older"). This provides a documented record that the account holder acknowledged the age requirement.
3. Free Content and Accounts
All educational content currently available on Checkmate Charlie — including videos, worksheets, games, and songs — is provided free of charge. No payment is required to access the content available at the time of writing.
A free user account may be required to access certain downloadable content (such as PDF worksheets). You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure. You must not share your account with others or use another person's account.
⚠ Requires legal review before publishing:
If paid products (e.g. worksheet packs) are introduced in future, a separate Purchase Terms or refund policy section will be needed. Add before launch of any paid feature.
4. Acceptable Use
You agree not to:
- Use the Service for any unlawful purpose.
- Reproduce, redistribute, or sell any content from the Service without our express written permission.
- Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Service or its underlying systems.
- Upload or transmit any content that is harmful, offensive, or infringes the rights of others.
- Use automated tools (bots, scrapers) to access or collect content from the Service.
5. Intellectual Property
All content on Checkmate Charlie — including illustrations, videos, songs, worksheets, character designs, logos, and written materials — is owned by or licensed to Charlize van Zyl / Checkmate Charlie and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws.
You may download and print worksheets for personal, non-commercial educational use only (e.g. for use with your own child or classroom). You may not reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute any content for commercial purposes without prior written permission.
Purchased worksheet packs
When you purchase a worksheet pack, your licence covers one household or one classroom only. Purchased packs are for the personal use of the individual buyer and may not be:
- shared, forwarded, or distributed to other parents, teachers, or third parties;
- uploaded to any website, platform, file-sharing service, or cloud storage accessible to others;
- reproduced in bulk or sold in any form;
- used in a commercial setting (e.g. a paid tuition business) without a separate commercial licence.
If you are a school or organisation wishing to use packs across multiple classrooms or teachers, please contact us at checkmatecharliechess@gmail.com to discuss a site licence.
⚠ Requires legal review before publishing:
Have a solicitor confirm the licence language is clear and enforceable in your key markets, particularly around "one household / one classroom" scope and remedies for breach. Also confirm whether a separate End User Licence Agreement (EULA) presented at checkout is advisable for paid products.
⚠ Requires legal review before publishing:
Confirm the exact ownership structure (sole trader? company? do illustrators or collaborators own any content under separate agreements?). If third-party assets are used (fonts, icons, stock images), ensure licences permit commercial use and are disclosed if required.
6. Third-Party Content
The Service embeds video content hosted on YouTube (operated by Google LLC). Your use of YouTube embeds is subject to YouTube's Terms of Service. We are not responsible for the content, availability, or practices of third-party platforms.
The Service may contain links to external websites. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of those sites.
7. Disclaimer of Warranties
The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components.
While we take care to ensure the chess content is accurate, we make no guarantee that all information is complete or up to date.
⚠ Requires legal review before publishing:
Consumer protection laws in some jurisdictions (including EU and South Africa's Consumer Protection Act) may imply warranties that cannot be excluded. A solicitor should review this clause to ensure it is enforceable in your target markets.
8. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Charlize van Zyl / Checkmate Charlie shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of or inability to use the Service.
⚠ Requires legal review before publishing:
Liability limitation clauses are heavily regulated in consumer contracts in the EU (Unfair Contract Terms Directive) and under the South African Consumer Protection Act. Have a solicitor confirm what exclusions are enforceable in your jurisdiction before publishing.
9. Changes to the Service and These Terms
We reserve the right to modify or discontinue any part of the Service at any time without notice. We may also update these Terms. Continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. We will post the updated version on this page with a revised "Last updated" date.
10. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of South Africa. Any disputes shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of South Africa.
⚠ Requires legal review before publishing:
Confirm the correct governing law and jurisdiction. If a significant portion of your users are in the EU or UK, you may need to comply with those regions' consumer protection laws regardless of a South Africa choice-of-law clause. EU consumers generally retain the protections of their home country's mandatory laws. A solicitor should advise on choice-of-law strategy.
11. Contact
Questions about these Terms? Contact us at checkmatecharliechess@gmail.com.