Dark Squares

Hardback

Trade Paperback

A cult leader; a chess prodigy; and the power of games to save a life

Danny is a major figure in the chess world: a child prodigy and multiple national champion who lost it all when his eardrums exploded at twenty years old after years of medical neglect. He is now the face of Chess.com and as such 'one of the most recognisable figures in the online gaming and esports industry'. But in this book Danny is going to reveal his deepest, darkest secret in public for the first time: he was raised in a cult.

What does it mean to reckon with a gift that remains inextricably linked with a horrible experience that almost destroyed your life?

Danny has never shared before that he grew up in the Church of Immortal Consciousness (aka the Collective). The Collective was emotionally, physically, sexually, and psychologically abusive towards its members, no matter their age, operating with false hierarchies, assigning its members all a spot on the totem pole, most of them near the bottom.

But Danny had something special: Steven Kamp, the leader of the Collective, was obsessed with chess. And Danny was a child prodigy. Danny began excelling at chess, winning tournaments, traveling the world, and making a name for himself. As Danny's star rose, the cult leaders began to rip Danny away from his mother, telling him that she wasn't as worthy a person as he was. And then, just as Danny was reaching new heights, his eardrums exploded, grounding his international chess career. Now basically bedridden, he'd lost everything.

How does a game like chess change the way you think about life, and how does that contribute to your ability to survive? Dark Squares is an extraordinary memoir of a unique life and talent that will forever change how you think about the power of games.