Fair play promise
Every move on a Letterbox Chess postcard is yours. You think, you decide, you post.
What you agree to
- No chess engines, and no apps or websites that evaluate positions with one.
- No AI assistants or chatbots, however you word the question.
- No one else chooses your moves for you.
What is fine
- Your own thinking, as long as you like.
- A physical board and pieces on your table.
- Chess books and notes you made yourself.
Why
A game here can take years. The point is to sit with a position and think it through. Your opponent is trusting you to do that, and you are trusting them.
What happens if someone breaks it
We cannot watch anyone at their table, so this mostly runs on honour. We also run finished games through a chess engine to see whether a member's moves follow an engine's choices unusually closely, and members can report a game they are worried about. That kind of result is never treated as proof. A person reads the games first, and we may end a member's games and membership if we have clear reason to think the promise was broken.