Pittsburgh Chess Club Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy was last updated on February 21, 2020.

The Pittsburgh Chess Club, Inc. (“PCC”) may collect and store various information in the course of our interactions with you, including online interactions, interactions in person, and interactions by phone.  This policy documents the information we collect and store, the purposes for which we collect and store the information, the details of how the information is used and by whom (or by what), the details of how and when we share your information with third-parties, and our commitments to you regarding the safeguarding and deletion of this information.

Information We Collect and Store

In the course of our interactions with you, we may collect and store the following types of information

• Information about your computer, operating system, network connection, and PCC web site usage
  • If you use the PCC web site, our web server may collect and store information such as your internet address (“IP address”), the type of web browser you are using and the operating system you are using (if your web browser makes this information available to us), the specific information on our web site that you accessed, the date and time on which you accessed it, and information about any security credentials you may have used or attempted to use to access information on the PCC web site.
  • We collect this information to facilitate the operation of our online services, and to investigate and prosecute fraudulent or illegal use of our services and web site.
  • We never share this information with third-parties unless it is necessary in the course of an investigation or prosecution as described above, or in response to a court order, subpoena, or other legal process.
  • You may not opt out of us collecting this information about your online use of our services, nor may you request that we delete or purge information of this type that is collected as a result of your interactions with us.
  • If we are required to share your information in this category by action of a court order, subpoena, or other legal process, we will make a reasonable attempt to notify you that your information has been shared, provided that we can identify you as the specific individual that the shared information pertains to, and provided that we are not otherwise enjoined or prevented by legal constraints from notifying you.
  • This type of information may be retained as long as it is required for operational purposes, but in no case will it be retained for less than 90 days.
• Web browser cookies
  • The PCC web site may attempt to store “browser cookies” in your web browser.  A “browser cookie” is a small file of information stored by our web server in your web browser, and is used to help facilitate your use of the services we provide on our web site.
  • You may opt out of the use of browser cookies on the PCC web site by configuring your web browser to accept no cookies, or to not accept any cookies from the PCC web site.
  • If you opt out of the use of cookies, some functions of the PCC web site may not work correctly for you, or may not work at all.
• Information you provide
  • Personally identifiable information - this may include your name, your mailing address, your e-mail address, your date of birth, your telephone number, your social security number, and your US Chess Federation ID number.  You may opt out of providing information to us by simply not providing it.  However, if you do not provide the information we request of you, we may not be able to provide you with the services and benefits you are interested in.
    • Your name - we need this information to help establish your identity in the course of club membership registration and renewal, US Chess Federation membership registration or renewal, tournament registration, and to confirm your eligibility for any offered services or benefits you request.
    • Your mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number - we need this information from members to send correspondence related to your membership, and to send you benefits you are entitled to with your membership (such as the “En Passant” club newsletter)
    • Your date of birth - we need this information to help confirm your eligibility for certain club membership and USCF membership classes that are restricted based on age, for certain tournament registrations and prizes that are restricted based on age, and to confirm whether or not we need parental consent to accept the submission of personally identifiable information from you.
    • Your social security number - we are required to obtain this from you before we can pay out any cash prizes in excess of $600 per calendar year.  This information will be disclosed to the US Internal Revenue Service on IRS form 1099-MISC along with the total amount of prize money won if over $600 per year.
    • Your US Chess Federation ID number - we need this information to facilitate your registration in any USCF-sanctioned events you wish to participate in.
  • We will not disclose the information you provide to us to any third-parties, except as noted above, unless required by law to do so.
  • Information you provide to us will be retained as long as it is necessary to facilitate the provision of services to you, and for at least 7 years after your PCC membership ends.

Collection of Personally Identifiable Information from children under the age of 13

In compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), the PCC does not knowingly solicit nor does it knowingly accept the submission of personally identifiable information pertaining to children under the age of 13 without parental consent as required by law.  If we become aware that we are in possession of such information without parental consent, we will make a reasonable effort to locate and notify a parent or guardian of the child whose information we have collected, and will then delete that information from our database.