About Checkmate
Built for Fast, Fair Competition
About Checkmate Live
Checkmate Live builds and operates skill-based games for social and competitive play — fast, furious, and built for fair play.
We design competitive experiences where outcomes can be trusted, effort is respected, and skill decides the result — and is rewarded. Whether you're playing socially or competing at the highest level, every match should be fair, reviewable, and worth playing.
We started with chess. Other skill-based games will follow.
Be a Legend. Play Hard. Play Fair.
Echess: Chess and Esports First
In partnership with the Asian Chess Federation (ACF), Checkmate Live powers Echess across 52 national member federations spanning Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania.
Echess is delivered on the Checkmate Live platform in partnership with the Asian Chess Federation, with regional operations coordinated from the UAE and live operations supported from Australia.
Powered by Sixth-i and Arbiter Mode, Echess Online Supervised Events are built for high-integrity competitive play — where rules are enforced consistently and outcomes can be reviewed when needed.
Fair Play Innovation is Our Foundation
Our battleground is verifiable truth and fair play.
Online competition only works when players trust the outcome. Cheating is real, disputes happen, and "bias" gets alleged the moment something feels off — so we built fair play first.
Cloud-native. Broadcast-ready. Built for speed.
We run a cloud-native competition stack with real-time video, in-platform broadcasts, and multi-match viewing — and we were the first to deliver a full edge deployment for competitive play in this category, enabling low-latency matches, supervision, and broadcast-grade reliability.
Fair play is powered by Sixth-i and Szuperchess computer-vision technology from VADR Media.
Learn more about our anti-cheat technology →
Different formats and stakes need different standards
We scale responsibly — compliance-as-code, with human review when it matters.
Detection and prevention are table stakes. The missing pillar is proof — and we're closing it. VADR Media's Fair Play Lab is building cryptographic proof systems that verify outcomes are legitimate and reviewable — without giving cheaters a playbook.
We balance transparency with protection and privacy — reducing the risk of gaming without compromising fairness.
Read our Fair Play Policy →
Competitive Play by Design
Checkmate Live is built to support competitive play at scale — with cloud-native infrastructure designed for consistent play, and for reviewable matches and outcomes.
Key Features:
Full edge deployment for competitive play — low latency, supervision support, broadcast-grade reliability
Live player view and delayed fan view to reduce ghosting and stream-sniping
In-platform broadcasts and multi-match viewing
AI and ML evidence-based detection and review methods
Video-supervised workflows for higher-stakes play
Case management and audit trails
Skill-aware matchmaking and divisions
Performance as Part of Fairness
Competitive play has an invisible opponent: latency.
In time-based competition, milliseconds decide outcomes. If clocks, move registration, or routing aren't engineered correctly, performance becomes an unfair advantage.
We treat performance as part of competitive integrity through:
Cloud-native, edge-first real-time delivery
Server-authoritative timing to prevent clock and network manipulation
Competitive lag compensation so skill — not routing luck — decides outcomes
Tournament-grade reliability for live and broadcast events
Fair Play Innovation Partners
VADR Media — Fair Play Innovation Partner
VADR Media produces and promotes new media, sports and entertainment, delivering content across free-to-air, cable, pay-per-view, and online platforms since 2005.
Checkmate Live uses Sixth-i and Szuperchess computer-vision technology under licence from VADR Media. VADR Media's Fair Play Lab leads ongoing fair play R&D, with approved systems deployed and tested on the Checkmate Live platform.
University of Technology Sydney Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute
AI-based detection algorithms used within the integrity stack are developed through research collaboration with the University of Technology Sydney Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute — recognised with the 2024 ANZ Sports Technology Award for this collaboration.
Our Ethos
Neutral by Design Checkmate Live is built for global competition. We don't take sides — the rules are the rules. All players are welcome and treated equally.
Fair Play First Players are expected to compete to the best of their ability and follow the rules at all times.
Respect Strong competition doesn't mean abuse. Respect opponents, officials, and administrators. Abuse toward players or platform staff isn't tolerated.
Fair Go We're committed to providing opportunities and rewards to users who participate fairly.
Tolerance We encourage good sportsmanship — on and off the board.
Competitive Integrity and Platform Rules
We expect all participants to compete fairly and respect other players, officials, and platform staff. Our Community Code of Conduct and Fair Play Policy set the standard — and if something's unclear, we want to hear from you through official channels.
One Player, One Account
To protect fair competition, each player may maintain only one account.
VPNs and Proxies
VPNs and proxies are not permitted on Checkmate Live. Location verification is essential for fair play, safety, compliance, and security. Use of VPNs or proxies may trigger access restrictions or bans.
Age Restrictions
Checkmate Live enforces age restrictions in line with applicable laws and platform policies. Some features may require age verification or additional safeguards.
Enforcement and Appeals
Players may be restricted or banned for violations of our Fair Play Policy or Community Code of Conduct.
When action is taken:
Affected users are notified via in-app chat.
The ruling includes the reason, policy basis, and appeal process (if applicable)
Appeals are submitted through the same channel, based on the ruling
We balance transparency (so standards are clear) with privacy (individual cases aren't litigated publicly).
Community Safety and Security
Social engineering, cheating, and policy breaches are treated seriously — and actioned fast.
This includes (not limited to):
Using engines, AI assistance, bots, or external help during play
Attempting to operate multiple accounts or bypass identity verification
Attempting to coordinate rule violations or exploit platform mechanics
Impersonating platform staff, officials, or other users
Attempting to manipulate support processes or decisions
Harassment, threats, or abuse toward players, officials, or staff
We enforce strictly to protect community safety (including minors), competitive integrity, regulatory compliance, and operational security. Violations result in immediate restrictions or permanent bans, with coordinated or systematic violations reported to authorities and relevant bodies where applicable.
Appeals are handled through in-app chat . We don't publicly discuss individual cases to protect privacy.
Platform Transparency and Discourse
We engage openly with our community on:
Tournament operations, matchmaking, and competitive formats
Fair play standards and policies
Feature development and platform improvements
Technical performance and reliability
Some areas aren't open for public discussion:
Specific anti-cheat detection methods (to prevent gaming the system)
Individual cases (privacy)
Infrastructure and security procedures (operational security)
We balance transparency (so you can hold us accountable) with operational security (so we can protect competitive integrity).
Official Channels
Platform support and appeals: In-app chat
Policy updates: Policy Log
Tournament announcements: In-app notifications and Email
Community Channels (Not Official Support)
We may participate in community spaces (including discord), but we don't action account requests, enforcement matters, or support tickets there.
Requests via community channels, social media DMs, unofficial channels, or third-party intermediaries cannot be actioned.
Contact
Fair Play
Fair play rulings are issued via in-app chat. General support cannot assist with fair play matters. Direct inquiries through the channel specified in the ruling.
Official Communications
Official support, rulings, and account requests are handled only via:
In-app chat on play.checkmate.live
In-product notifications and email
We don't action requests via community channels or social media DMs — it reduces impersonation and account fraud.
Staff operate under pseudonyms for operational security. FIDE arbiters supervising events are listed in accordance with FIDE standards.
Policy Log
We keep a public log of material updates to policies that affect competitive integrity, privacy, and platform rules — so players, partners, and regulators can track changes over time.
View Policy Log →
For company information, jurisdiction details, and legal documentation, see our Company page.
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