Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life

Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life - Hardcover

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Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life
  • Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life
Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life - Hardcover

Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life - Hardcover

by Danny Rensch
$30.00
$30.00

Book Overview

In this "heart-breaking, hilarious, ultimately transcendent" (Jeannette Walls) memoir, International Master and Chess.com co-founder Danny Rensch describes his upbringing in an abusive cult - and how chess ended up saving his life

Born into the Church of Immortal Consciousness, Danny Rensch spent his childhood navigating the isolated confines of a cult. Despite psychological manipulation, physical abuse, and neglect, he persevered. An international chess master and world-class commentator, Rensch's remarkable journey led him to being the face of Chess.com, one of the largest online gaming platforms in the world.

With unflinching honesty, Rensch recounts his life, starting from the moment he discovered chess in the summer of 1995, all the way up to being at the center of the most explosive cheating scandal in chess history.

He chronicles the traumas of being "special" in a cult that forced separation from his mother. Mentored by an alcoholic, Russian chess master, he found solace alongside suffering in his obsession for an ancient game, and chess became his only escape. Rensch rose through the chess ranks until a medical emergency nearly took him out of the game forever. And it almost did, until Chess.com came along.

Deeply heartfelt, keenly reflective, and haunting, Dark Squares is the never-before-told story of Danny Rensch's resilience, survival, and his enduring love for the game that saved him.

ISBN9781541703285
Author Danny Rensch
PublisherPublicAffairs
GenreGaming and Biography
FormatHardcover
PublishedSeptember 2025
LanguageENG- English
Pages368
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Biography & Autobiography Games & Activities Nonfiction

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More by Danny Rensch

Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life

Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life - Hardcover

Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life - Hardcover

By Danny Rensch

About Danny Rensch

Danny Rensch is an international chess master, world-renowned chess broadcaster and commentator, and chief chess officer for Chess.com. Rensch was a seven-time all-American chess player and a multiple-time national scholastic chess champion. He became the youngest chess master in Arizona history and today lives in Utah with his wife and four children.

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