Today we are very excited to welcome Danny Rensch to the podcast! Lovers of chess may know Danny as an international chess champion and co-founder of Chess.com—but did you know he was also raised in a cult? In this interview, Danny discusses the release of his new book, Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life, which tells the story of his upbringing in the Church of Immortal Consciousness. Groomed by the cult’s leader, Steven Camp, to become a chess grandmaster, Danny was separated from his family at a young age and taught that his ultimate purpose in life was to bring awareness to the religion through chess. Listen along to learn more about: -The Church of Immortal Consciousness, their beliefs, and its founders -Danny’s training with alcoholic chess master Igor Ivanov -Danny’s struggles with substances and addiction, and how these were fostered by “the collective” -Danny’s career as a chess master and how it ultimately led him to co-found Chess.com Danny Rensch’s book Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life is out now! Let’s help him get on the bestseller list by purchasing the book here: https://a.co/d/gG0MfSi Show notes can be found on the Mormon Stories blog here: https://www.mormonstories.org/chess-champion-raised-in-a-cult-danny-renschs/ Timecodes: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:10:13 What was the EST group? 00:13:00 About Dr. Durran - founder of The Collective 00:17:02 How are God and Dr. Durran connected in the church doctrine? 00:24:32 About Trina Camp - the “guru” of The Collective 00:26:36 Who is Steven Camp? 00:28:38 Background on Danny’s parents and family 00:32:19 Doctrinal “pillars” of the Collective & how wives were treated 00:33:46 “Like-vibrations” and how they affected his parents 01:01:51 “You don’t stop loving the person who shuns you, you stop loving yourself” 01:06:25 Discussing “blame reversal” 01:11:04 How Danny got interested in Chess 01:19:45 Igor Ivanov, a chess champion, moved to their village and taught their chess team 01:27:53 Was told while in a “trance” session that his purpose is to be a chess champion 01:33:24 Was separated from his mom to live with various families in the Collective 01:47:08 Discussing the chess rating system - one of the youngest chess masters in the US at the time 01:49:14 He began to develop unhealthy coping mechanisms 01:52:12 Drinking and smoking were a major part of the collective 01:54:57 The issues with his ears halted his chess career 02:09:04 The beginning of Chess.com 01:10:22 Discussing Russia’s dominance in the Chess world 02:14:42 How the internet was the key to change the game of chess 02:25:45 How Chess.com has elevated the game 02:47:44 When did he begin to question his faith? 02:54:57 Reconciling with his mom before her death 03:00:15 Had a final blow up with Steven Camp when he did not want to pay the church anymore 03:17:09 What is his advice to people with addiction? 03:26:36 Discussing the writing of his book 03:31:04 Discussing the “cheating scandal” 03:41:29 Does he ever wish that his children could have parts of his upbringing? 03:48:30 Are they religious now? 03:51:20 We need 5,000 viewers to buy Danny’s book! ___________________ At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals. Our overall mission is to: 1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology 2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis 3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions 🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/mormonstories Paypal: https://paypal.me/mormonstories Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx6OgmoqJbOVRq-Lv1P7SzA/join Our Platforms: 🌐Mormon Stories Blog: https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes 🎙️Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories ✳️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7dRjODTSEqzZKZJzk?si=148b0efc1ccc4404&nd=1 🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mormon-stories-lds/id312094772 🖼️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mormstories 📱TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonstoriespodcast 🎮Discord: https://discord.com/invite/kuX5p6yyjF Contact us: 📧 MormonStories@gmail.com 📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117