Cancel Chess.com through your account settings

You can cancel your Chess.com membership directly from your account page without contacting support. Log in to Chess.com, click your username in the top right corner, and select Settings. From there, go to the Membership tab on the left side. You will see your current plan and a button labeled Cancel Membership or Manage Subscription — the exact wording depends on which plan you have.

Click that button and Chess.com will ask you to confirm the cancellation. You may see a prompt offering a discount to keep your membership — you can ignore this and proceed with cancellation. Once you confirm, your membership ends when ready, though you keep access to your account and games until your current billing period expires. If you paid monthly, cancellation takes effect on your next billing date. If you paid annually, you keep access through the end of that year.

Write down the date you cancelled so you can verify the charge stops on your next statement. If a charge appears after cancellation, you will have proof of when you cancelled to show your bank or payment provider.

Key Takeaways

  • Cancel through Settings > Membership > Cancel Membership in your Chess.com account — no phone call or email needed.
  • Your access continues until the end of your current billing period, whether that is monthly or annual.
  • Chess.com may offer a discount to keep your membership; you can decline and proceed with cancellation.
  • If a charge appears after you cancel, contact your bank or payment provider with the cancellation date as proof.
  • Cancellation is permanent — if you want to rejoin later, you will need to purchase a new membership.

What happens to your account after cancellation

Cancelling your membership does not delete your account or your game history. You can still log in, view all your past games, and play on the free tier with the same username. Your rating, achievements, and puzzle history remain on your profile. You straightforward lose access to premium features like unlimited lessons, the opening database, and the ability to play longer time controls in some game modes.

If you want to return to a paid plan later, you can purchase a new membership at any time. Your old account and all its data will be waiting. There is no penalty for cancelling and rejoining — you are not locked out or marked as a former member in any way that affects your standing.

If the cancel button does not appear

Some members see a Manage Subscription button instead of Cancel Membership. Click Manage Subscription and you will be taken to a page showing your billing details. From there, look for a link or button to cancel — it is usually at the bottom of the page or labeled Cancel Plan. If you still do not see a cancellation option, your membership may have already ended or you may be on a trial period that expires on its own.

If you are on a trial membership, it will end automatically on the date shown in your Settings. You do not need to cancel a trial — it straightforward stops renewing. Check the Membership tab to see whether you are on a paid plan or a trial, and what date your current period ends.

Cancelling a membership paid through Apple or Google

If you signed up for Chess.com through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, you cannot cancel through the Chess.com website. Instead, you must cancel through your device's app store. On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap your name at the top, select Subscriptions, find Chess.com, and tap Cancel Subscription. On Android, open the Google Play Store app, tap your profile icon, go to Payments and subscriptions > Subscriptions, select Chess.com, and tap Cancel subscription.

The cancellation takes effect when ready in the app store system, but Chess.com may take a few hours to sync the change. You will still see your membership active in your Chess.com Settings for a short time — this is normal and will update once the systems communicate. If you see a charge after cancellation, contact Apple or Google support with your cancellation confirmation, since they process the payment, not Chess.com.

Stopping charges if you cannot access your account

If you cannot log into Chess.com or do not remember your password, you can still stop charges by contacting your bank or payment provider. Tell them you want to revoke permission for Chess.com to charge your card. Most banks and credit card companies can do this in one call or through their online portal — look for options like "block merchant" or "revoke authorization." Provide your card number and the Chess.com charge amount so they can identify it.

This method stops future charges but does not formally cancel your Chess.com account. If you later regain access to your account, you should still go through the cancellation steps in Settings to close it properly. If you need Chess.com to process the cancellation on their end, you can contact their support team through the Help section of the website and explain that you cannot access your account.

Checking that the cancellation worked

After you cancel, check your bank or credit card statement in 5 to 10 business days to confirm the charge has stopped. Your next statement should show no Chess.com charge. If a charge appears, log back into your Chess.com account and verify the cancellation went through — sometimes the page does not update when ready. If the charge persists and you cancelled correctly, contact your bank and dispute the charge, providing the date you cancelled as evidence.

Keep your cancellation confirmation or a screenshot of your Settings page showing the cancellation date. If you need to prove to your bank that you cancelled, this record will help. Most banks will reverse a charge if you show you cancelled the subscription before the charge posted.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I lose my games and rating if I cancel?

No. Your account, all your games, and your rating stay on Chess.com forever. Cancelling only removes your access to premium features. You can still play and view everything you did before, just on the free tier.

Can I cancel in the middle of a billing period and get a refund?

Chess.com does not refund partial months or years. Your membership ends on your next billing date if you pay monthly, or at the end of your annual period if you pay yearly. You keep full access until that date arrives.

What if I want to cancel but keep playing?

You can play Chess.com for free after cancellation. The free account lets you play unlimited games in most time controls, solve puzzles, and view your game history. You just lose premium features like lessons and the opening database.

How do I cancel if I signed up through a different website?

If you created your Chess.com account through a partner site or promotion, you still cancel through Chess.com Settings. The cancellation method is the same regardless of how you signed up. If you paid through that partner site instead of Chess.com directly, contact that site's support to cancel the charge.

Can I pause my membership instead of cancelling?

Chess.com does not offer a pause option. You can only cancel or keep your membership active. If you want to return later, you can rejoin by purchasing a new membership whenever you are ready.