Learn How to Easily Cancel Your Chess.com Membership

Chess.com is a popular online platform for chess enthusiasts, offering a variety of features for players of all levels. There may come a time when you decide to cancel your membership for various reasons. From losing interest in chess to dissatisfaction with the platform’s features or financial constraints, there are several factors that may lead to this decision.

In this article, we will explore the reasons for canceling membership in Chess.com and provide you with a guide on how to cancel your membership through the website, email, or phone call. We will discuss what happens after canceling your membership, including account deactivation and the platform’s refund policy.

If you’re looking for alternatives to Chess.com, we will also explore other online chess platforms, offline chess clubs, and mobile chess apps. So whether you’re considering canceling your membership or simply exploring other options, this article has got you covered.

What Is Chess.com?

Chess.com is an online chess server, internet forum, and social gaming site where players of all skill levels can compete against each other without having to be in the same location. It also allows users to participate in tournaments, learn and practice through various interactive teaching tools, and play other chess-like games. Chess.com was founded on December 12, 2005, by Erik and Jay with less than $700. After initial development struggles, it transformed into the popular site and app it is today with over 46 million registered users. The company is headquartered in California’s Bay Area.

Reasons for Canceling Membership in Chess.com

There are three main reasons for canceling membership in Chess.com, they are as follows:

1. You do not need a premium membership and that means you lose nothing by canceling.
2. You have problems with the service or are unhappy for some reason and wish to leave (15.6% of expert and active users claim to have had problems with Chess.com according to exodus to prove.
3. You intend to use Chess.com again in the future but as a free user.

Not Interested in Playing Chess Anymore

If you are not interested in playing chess anymore then a good source to read about some possibilities of what to do after cancelling your Chess.com membership is this piece by Arun Sharma on Career 360.

Dr. Ananya Mandal, a doctor and researcher from Calcutta, India, advises to assess for therapy or counseling, as total loss of interest – particularly if accompanied by feelings of emptiness, aimlessness, guilt, or irritability – could be due to a clinical issue. Nivedita Deshpande, a counselor and hypnotherapist at Inner Galaxy Research and Training of Mumbai India, also suggests focusing on aspects of the sport or craft that interest in such as photography or music if the original hobby does not appeal anymore.

Talon Brown, a famous American magician and YouTuber who was once a chess master advises trying later in life. He says that after chess, his new interests including card games and through YouTube, he picked up magic, a hobby that led him to a whole new world of arts and shows.

Coba Wassenaar, a famous painter who taught Van Gogh for 4 years suggests picking up painting, which allows one to explore inner emotions while attracting those that are passionate about visual art.

Dissatisfied with the Platform’s Features

If you are dissatisfied with Chess.com’s features, an interesting option may be the World Chess Federation’s (FIDE) platform. Widely recognized by chess enthusiasts, this platform comes with its own set of lifestyle, educational, and training tools. A paid membership FIDE Arena account can be had for €30.00/year. A free version of FIDE Arena, called FIDE Online, can be used as well. While it has a number of restrictions, a surprising number of technical-term chess documentaries can be seen here.

Financial Constraints

`Emergency Membership Cancellation Refund Policy` permits cancellation due to financial difficulties. This is not a full cancellation of services but an effort to offer help. You may immediately cancel so long as you qualify and you will not receive a refund but your account will remain active. Instead, you can convert your membership to a free membership*/basic account, retaining ALL basic account features and privileges, which includes all basic-level videos and features at the cost of $0/month.

How to Cancel Membership in Chess.com?

You can cancel membership in Chess.com by turning off auto-renewal for your existing premium membership, canceling your membership from the profile area by selecting Upgrade Options then Cancel on the Chess.com Settings page, or contacting the Chess.com billing support team. You are not obligated to cancel if you signed up for Premium Membership as they do NOT automatically renew if you don’t select this option when you sign up.

Canceling via the Website

To cancel Chess.com membership via the website, log in and go to www.chess.com/account/my-account. This will take you to the Membership Settings. Then click the button in the bottom right that says Save Changes. If you have subscribed to any of the Select memberships, you will have to cancel automatic billing and wait to re-subscribe before the Simple plan is available to you. The screenshot in section 2. Find the Memberships Page in the article Cancelling Chess Memberhip provides a concise summary of the process.

Canceling via Email

According to the Cancellation Policy as provided by Chess.com, you can cancel your membership on Chess.com by mailing [email protected].

You may send an email requesting cancellation, but it is not clear if you can cancel directly via email response to the email received from [email protected] that provides proof of refund or cancellation.

Note: Only those with an active subscription, such as an annual plan, are eligible for refunds. Serious business claims should support a tough financial decision with a good understanding of the cancellation policy. Signing up for an annual plan usually means forfeiting your subscription money in case of cancellation, but speaking with Chess.com representatives should clarify if exceptions can be made. There are several threads on the Chess.com Forums discussing how to go about cancelling.

It is not clear what form the efficacy of direct Cancellation via email normally takes on Chess.com, so if you are aware of any procedures or results experienced by others, please make particular note of them below in the comments field.

Canceling via Phone Call

You can cancel your Chess.com membership after having Defense Countermeasures speak on your behalf via either email or their website, but not the phone. To cancel via the phone call customer service using the following numbers. The knowledgeable customer service representative can also explain how you can cancel after having Defense Countermeasures contact Chess.com on your behalf. If Chess.com membership cancellation is taking an especially long time, inquire with customer service.

What Happens After Canceling Membership?

According to the Chess.com Team, immediately after cancelation, you will retain full access to all your Premium membership benefits until the end of your current billing cycle.

After this period, downgraded accounts can access most of the site and play games for free. The benefits of the membership cancelation will remain in place until the next automatic renewal date, at which point free users will have to re-purchase the subscription or the account will no longer have those premium memberships features. If you do not want to retain your account at all, you can arrange for account deletion.

Deleted accounts will be permanently removed immediately and there is no way to reactivate or recover it later. To delete an account, go to Preferences on the Play page. Click on the Red Account Settings Button at the bottom;Account then Delete Account.

Account Deactivation

Account deactivation helps to cancel Chess.com membership. Proceed with canceling membership by following these instructions:

1. Log in to your Chess.com account.
2. Go to the account settings page. This can be found by tapping your profile picture in the top right user menu, pointing to your profile there and selecting Account settings.
3. Tap the Deactivate Account button located at the bottom of the page and answer why you would like to cancel. At the end of the message, tap the deactivate account button.

Deactivation notes: No refund is provided via deactivation. The account is reactivated upon logging back in. The account is temporarily suspended if the deactivation request is sent to customer support.

According to the Chess.com support guide: You can deactivate your account at any time and for any reason. This action cannot be reversed. Any unused portion of a corporate membership is non-refundable unless canceling within the 5-day grace period. Account deactivation is the preferred method of canceling the account.

Refund Policy

You get a warning that the account is due for automatic renewal. Payment will be collected a few days prior to the renewal date. In the case of automatic renewal, you can request a refund in full if it has already been charged if your request is made within 30 days of originally being charged. No partial refund will be given if it is beyond this initial 30-day period.

Are There Any Alternatives to Chess.com?

There are many alternatives to Chess.com for online chess. The most popular are lichess.org, chess24.com, and the International Chess Club. Here is a look at each of them.

• Lichess.org (LiChess):
  • Lichess Pros: Light on power consumption, no ads, completely free (open source), all features available at no charge, largest player pool of the free online sites, support of foundations, 15 modes support different skills.
  • Lichess Cons: Minimal multimedia functionality (limited video archives), less premium activities and learning content, high server load, limited off-board content (same as Chess.com with no visualization learning tools).
• Chess24.com:
  • Chess24 Pros: Excellent video instruction from elite GMs, several free/highly discounted tactics and strategy courses, huge video archive with the highest quality video production among free sites, open forums with interactive strategy discussion, ties to worldwide chess tournaments.
  • Chess24 Cons: Membership required for most content, sizable number of ads and upsells.
• International Chess Club:
  • ICC Pros: Home to the best online players in the world, great feature rich mobile app only available to members, elite world tournaments, rumors of FIDE endorsement.
  • ICC Cons: Membership required, limited learning utility, limited lower skill pick up games.

One other site to mention is Online-Go.com. It is the largest site for playing a different ancient intellectual game. Like LiChess for example, best of all it is completely free.

Editorial note: In this article, when we use the word popular in the title, we mean that these sites have the most features and players available among the best-regarded online chess playing websites. There is no exact count of the number of players so no way to say definitively which is the most popular in terms of unique users.

Other Online Chess Platforms

Alternative online chess platforms for cancelling Chess.com memberships include the following:

• LiChess: A 100% free platform with no premium memberships.
• Play Magnus: An online chess platform endorsed by the world chess champion. The premium membership ranges from $5.83/month to $13.33/month when billed monthly.
• Chess24: A community-driven chess playing and viewing platform. The premium membership is $14/month when billed monthly.
• Internet Chess Club (ICC): An alternative online chess platform. Premium membership ranges from $70 for six months to $100/year.
• Tactic Trainer: An online chess training platform. Premium membership is $5/month to $32/year.

Chess.com members who would like to continue developing their chess skills can consider any of the platforms listed above. Tactic Trainer allows chess players to increase their tactical skills and improve their performance in various chess positions. The ability to challenge and compete with colleagues and friends in real-time can be the ideal choice for business users looking to make teammates and coworkers enjoy a short game. The Internet Chess Club (ICC) is the largest online chess platform created by the US at the University of Pittsburgh originally. With more than 30,000 members and a mentorship program, it is helpful for those looking for rapid improvement. Chess24, Tactic Trainer, and other online platforms list webinars, tutoring sessions, and lessons for those seeking to receive any type of service.

Offline Chess Clubs

Offline chess clubs are registered organizations and bodies that have regular practice and game sessions, competitions, and training seminars for their members. Offline clubs are prevalent in almost every town and city around the world and offer social opportunities and structured training and playing facilities that are not available through online platforms like Chess.com. To cancel a paid membership of Chess.com offline chess club benefits needs to be considered. Find an Offline Chess Club here.

http://wheretoplaychess.com

Mobile Chess Apps

Currently the Chess.com account and related membership cannot be canceled on iOS and Android Chess.com apps or the official Chess.com mobile site. To cancel, members must visit the desktop site. A tip coming from the site is that on desktop sites, pressing Ctrl + f will help members search through both the blog article to find the relevant list of membership categories, as well as locate the membership category section on the cancel membership page.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I cancel my membership in Chess.com?

To cancel your membership in Chess.com, log in to your account and go to the “Account Settings” page. From there, click on the “Membership” tab and select “Cancel Membership” at the bottom of the page.

2. Can I cancel my membership at any time?

Yes, you can cancel your membership in Chess.com at any time. There are no cancellation fees or penalties.

3. Will I receive a refund if I cancel my membership?

Chess.com does not offer refunds for cancelled memberships. However, you will still have access to all the features and benefits of your membership until the end of your billing period.

4. What happens to my account after I cancel my membership?

After cancelling your membership, your account will revert to a free basic account. You will still have access to basic features, but you may lose access to any premium features or benefits that were included in your membership.

5. Can I cancel my membership through the Chess.com mobile app?

No, you will need to log in to your account through a web browser to cancel your membership. The option to cancel is not available on the mobile app.

6. Is there a way to put my membership on hold instead of cancelling it?

Yes, Chess.com offers the option to pause your membership for a period of time instead of cancelling it. This way, you can still retain your membership benefits when you are ready to come back.