Review of "Dark Squares"

 Having posted about books on chess before, I decided to do another one on this fascinating memoir by one of the early contributors (who is now the COO) of chess.com, Danny Rensch.  It's a fascinating book.

Title: "Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life" by Danny Rensch

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (outstanding) 

Review: When one thinks of chess, one won't immediately think of cults, children taken from their parents, tithing and cheating.  However, this memoir from the COO of chess.com, Danny Rensch, covers all these topics and more.  It makes for one of the most interesting memoirs I have read in a long time.  

Starting with Danny's love of chess after watching the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer", his story moves along quite slowly, but one cannot help but absorb every word Rensch writes about the leaders of the Collective (the name of the cult to which his family belonged) immediately saying his Purpose was to be a chess prodigy.  As a result, he was treated somewhat better than other members, but it also led to him being taken away from his mother and placed in the family of one of the leaders - who happened to be his biological father who before this had no contact with him.  If this all sounds convoluted - well, it is and it takes careful reading to figure it out.

Rensch then moves through his life of winning tournaments, finding his soulmate who would be his wife Shauna (blessed by the Collective, of course) and his later trauma of alcoholism, tinnitus and his trouble maintaining his grandmaster status until an unlikely encounter with the founders landed him at chess.com.  From there, his life did improve, he did reunite with his mother, but there was another troubling aspect.  It had to do with the game and the increased cheating by online players, including those achieving master status.

There are also good sections, written in italics on the Kindle version, on the game's history, the impact that machines made on the game, including the famous "Deep Blue" match with Garry Kasparov.  Again, more than what any review could include, it's best to read the book.  Danny Rensch has opened himself up and shared practically everything he could about not only his chess skills and his work at chess.com, but also an eye-opening look at life inside a cult.

I wish to thank Public Affairs for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own. 

Link: Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life - Kindle edition by Rensch, Danny. Health, Fitness & Dieting Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.