Books

Dark Squares by Danny Rensch was one of the most interesting memoirs I've read in awhile

It's about him growing up in a cult where he became a chess prodigy and was taken away from his mother by cult leaders to continue their belief that chess was his life purpose

I’ve never studied chess, and I can’t recall exactly the first time I played. It was probably whatever version of chess came with Microsoft PCs in the late 1990s. I’ve known how each piece is allowed to move, and this has been enough to have a fun time whenever I play casually with people.

Though I watched Netflix’s T

I’m reading this right now too - fascinating and courageous.

Building @farcaster, cofounder @bountycaster. Prev: cofounder of Scalar Capital, product at Coinbase, coproducer @ethereumfilm

Ethereum

It really is! Also got a little excited I shared this on X and Danny the author responded since I've been so immersed in his world for several days

Building a little space at /thenextwave and watching everything on /videolab.

I'd be excited by that too! Did not realize what a wild world chess is. Even his X profile feels like a rabbit hole.

It really is! Also got a little excited I shared this on X and Danny the author responded since I've been so immersed in his world for several days https://x.com/DanielRensch/status/1985563660111266298

I’m reading this right now too - fascinating and courageous.

https://farcaster.xyz/patriciaxlee.eth/0x81fdb0fe

The cult used his talent as currency, Rensch used chess as leverage to escape, then built Chessdotcom into something that gives millions of people what he never had, access without abuse, community without control, purpose without coercion. Alchemized trauma into platform.