Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life

by Danny Rensch Narrated by Danny Rensch

Overview

Educated meets The Queen's Gambit in this extraordinary memoir by International Master and Chess.com co-founder Danny Rensch, who 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.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A winning memoir.” —Kirkus

“Dark Squares is a heart-breaking, hilarious, ultimately transcendent story of one man’s journey out of chaos and dysfunction. Danny Rensch’s vehicle for escape was not anger or hate, but rather finding what he loved—chess—and turning it into his superpower. Thank you, Danny Rensch, for making my Christmas shopping easier.”—Jeannette Walls, author of the New York Times bestseller The Glass Castle

“Dark Squares is a powerful memoir and a testimony to why an ancient boardgame still has a place in our modern world. With a home life as troubled as the one Danny Rensch experienced, the complexities of the chessboard were more than a mere distraction. Chess is not life—even a world champion can admit that. But, as in Rensch’s case, it can certainly save one. With his work at Chess.com and with this beautiful book, he is well on the way to paying back his debt to our beloved game.”—Garry Kasparov, 13th World Chess Champion

“Great men overcome great obstacles—and I haven’t been this inspired by an underdog story in a long time. Taken from his mother, raised in a cult, Danny rose to the very pinnacle of the chess world—and then the business world. A must read.”—Bobby Hall (a.k.a. Logic), #1 New York Times bestselling author of Supermarket

"A fantastic read! Danny Rensch’s story is inspiring, fascinating, and at times heartbreaking. His wild ride from a difficult and traumatic childhood to becoming one of the most influential people in the history of chess will keep you turning pages way past bedtime. Compelling and unique, Dark Squares is a deep dive into the chess world through the eyes of someone who is at the center of it all.”—Ben Mezrich, author of Bringing Down the House

Kirkus Reviews

2025-06-13
Mastering the game—and more.

Author Rensch, international chess master, chess broadcaster, and chess commentator reminds readers that chess is a worldwide obsession—not unlike soccer. It’s also a complex passion that requires intense study. Readers awaiting the delights of the Netflix showThe Queen’s Gambit (which duly appear) will not regret the wait, as Rensch begins with his childhood. He was raised in a religious cult. Although it lacked lurid qualities, its members lived under oppressive leaders. When in 1995 a group of boys interested in chess won local contests, the cult leader decided that chess fit perfectly with his teachings and aggressively encouraged it. Within a few years, the team, with Rensch the most successful member, was winning national contests and making headlines. Rensch was separated from his parents (a feature of the cult), and his isolated adolescence was dominated not just by chess but by alcohol and drugs. Rensch detours regularly to deliver a history of chess and the contemporary game largely controlled (i.e., financed) by the USSR until the 1990s, when even celebrity grandmasters barely earned travel expenses. Then came computers, the internet, and more media attention, which produced bigger prizes, plus the rise of cell phones, which facilitated cheating. Readers will sympathize with the author’s struggles but likely perk up when in 2008 he encounters two entrepreneurs operating an early internet chess site whose knowledge of serious competitive chess remained at the amateur level. He persuaded them to add features, programs, competitions, and the technology that ultimately promoted chess.com to its dominant position. During these years, the author writes of victories in his personal life, too, overcoming marital problems and escaping the influence of the cult.

A chess professional’s winning memoir.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940194525331
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	09/16/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged