Privacy Policy

Last updated: 8 August 2026

Chess Wizards London provides chess coaching for children and adults, in London and online. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, and what rights you have over it.

Because we teach children, Section 4 is written specifically for parents and guardians.

Who we are

Chess Wizards London
8 Courtfield Gardens, London, SW5 0PA

You can reach us any time through our contact form.

We are the data controller for the information described here.

1. What we collect

When you enquire or book a lesson

  • Your name, email address and phone number
  • Your postcode or area, if you are booking in-person lessons, so we can match you with a coach who covers your area
  • Your preferences: online or in person, lesson type, and when you are available

If the lessons are for a child

  • The child's name
  • The child's age
  • The child's current chess level or experience
  • Their interests, if you choose to tell us, so the coach can build rapport

When you become a customer

  • Lesson history, attendance, progress notes and coach feedback
  • Practice materials and how they are getting on
  • Payment records. Card details are handled entirely by our payment provider and do not reach us

Automatically

  • Cookies, described in Section 7
  • Your IP address, used to protect our booking forms from abuse

2. Why we collect it, and our legal basis

  • Arranging and delivering lessons — to provide the service you asked for. Performance of a contract.
  • Matching you with a suitable coach — the same. Performance of a contract.
  • Taking payment — the same. Performance of a contract.
  • Recording progress and giving feedback — so we can teach in a structured way. Performance of a contract.
  • Replying to your enquiry — so we can answer you. Legitimate interests.
  • Protecting our forms from abuse — to keep the service working and prevent fraud. Legitimate interests.
  • Sending you updates about lessons and events — only if you have ticked the box asking us to. Consent, which you can withdraw at any time.

We do not sell your information. We do not use it to make automated decisions about you.

3. Who else is involved

To run the business we use a small number of service providers, who process information only on our instructions:

  • Website and booking platform hosting — our site and booking system run on third-party infrastructure
  • Payment processing — a payment provider handles card transactions
  • Email — an email provider sends our confirmations and replies
  • Appointment scheduling — a scheduling provider, for some bookings

Our coaches see what they need in order to teach: name, age, level, lesson history and progress notes.

We may also disclose information where the law requires it, or where there is a safeguarding concern about a child's welfare.

Some providers may process data outside the UK. Where they do, we rely on the protections those providers have in place under UK data protection law.

If you would like to know exactly which providers we use, ask us through our contact form and we will tell you.

4. Children's information — for parents and guardians

  • A parent or guardian makes the booking. Our booking system is intended for an adult to complete, and we ask you to confirm that before you submit.
  • We ask for as little as we can — enough to match your child with the right coach and pitch the lessons at the right level.
  • We do not market to children. Anything we send goes to the parent or guardian.
  • We do not share children's information for advertising. Ever.
  • You can see, correct or delete your child's information at any time. Message us through our contact form and we will respond within one month.
  • If you start a booking and do not finish it, we keep what you entered for 30 days so you can pick up where you left off, and then we delete it automatically.

If you would rather we held less than this, tell us. We would rather have that conversation than hold information you are not comfortable with.

5. How long we keep it

  • Unfinished bookings — 30 days, then deleted automatically
  • Enquiries that did not become lessons — up to 12 months
  • Customer records, lesson notes and progress — for as long as you are with us, and for a period afterwards in case you return
  • Payment and invoice records — kept as long as tax law requires
  • Marketing preferences — until you withdraw them, after which we keep a record that you did

6. Your rights

You can ask us to:

  • give you a copy of what we hold about you
  • correct anything wrong
  • delete it
  • restrict or object to how we use it
  • send it to another provider
  • withdraw your consent, where consent is what we relied on

Message us through our contact form and we will respond within one month.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk. We would appreciate the chance to put it right first.

7. Cookies

  • Essential cookies keep you signed in and remember a booking you have started. The booking system does not work without them. One of these remembers an unfinished booking for 30 days.
  • Analytics cookies help us understand how the site is used.

8. Changes

If we change this policy we will update the date at the top. If a change is significant, we will tell you directly.