Interview Episode: Dark Squares with Danny Rensch

Special Guest: Danny Rensch

Danny Rensch is an international chess master, world-renowned chess broadcaster and commentator, and chief chess officer for Chess.com. He was a seven-time all-American chess player and a multiple-time national scholastic chess champion who became the youngest chess master in Arizona history. Danny Rensch also grew up in a cult, and in his memoir, Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life, he delves into this part of his story for the first time.

Episode presenting partner:

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Danny Rensch grew up in the Church of Immortal Consciousness, a cult he usually refers to as ‘the Collective’. Started by Steven and Trina Kamp, the group followed the teachings of a Dr Pahlvon Duran, whose spirit first visited Trina when she was 9. In trances, she would convey the teachings of Dr Duran, whose last lifetime was lived as an Englishman in the 15th century. The group lived communally dispersed across basic housing in Tonto Village, Arizona.

The Collective’s small charter school, the Shelby School, became renowned for the performance of its chess team, and Danny Rensch was its star performer. By 14 he was a US Chess Federation national master, which was an Arizona state record at that age, and at 19 he was ranked first in the United States for his age, when he also achieved his first international master norm. Today he is the Chief Chess Officer and co-founder of Chess.com.

Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life by Danny Rensch is out on 6 September, and available for pre-order now.

EPISODE LINKS

Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life — by Danny Rensch, Hachette, September 2025
Chess.com — With Danny Rensch's profile and statistics

EPISODE DETAILS

Hosted and Produced by Sarah Steel

Music by Joe Gould

September 3rd, 2025

1 hr 26 mins 52 secs

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