The Jordan Harbinger Show, Episode 1289 Guest: Danny Rensch | How Chess Freed Me from Life in a Cult, Part One Released: February 24, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode features Danny Rensch, accomplished chess player, entrepreneur, and survivor of a secretive cult called the Church of Immortal Consciousness. In a candid, often darkly humorous conversation, Danny sits down with host Jordan Harbinger to unpack the extraordinary circumstances of his upbringing—marked by manipulation, poverty, and the weaponization of relationships. Central to his story is chess, which not only became his escape but also a tool of the cult itself. Along the way, Danny describes bizarre cult dynamics, the controversial role of an infamous Russian chess coach, and how his unconventional (and at times perilous) upbringing shaped his resilience, worldview, and eventual path to building a billion-dollar chess empire.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Cult: Origins, Structure, and Manipulation

• Formation and Beliefs

  • The cult was known as the Church of Immortal Consciousness, founded by Steven and Trina Camp, the latter acting as a “trance medium” who channeled spiritual advice. (03:48)
    • “They don’t call themselves a cult. Surprise. But the collective itself was called the Church of Immortal Consciousness.” – Danny [03:48]

• Influences

  • The cult drew from 1970s/80s New Age and self-help movements, including est (a precursor to the Landmark Forum) and the “rebirthing” movement. (04:54)

• Communal Structure

  • New members surrendered all possessions and income, theoretically to focus on “spiritual evolution.” (06:18–07:24)
  • Deep financial mergers created a rigid hierarchy, with the leader skimming for personal gain.
  • As the cult aged, disputes intensified over “real money” inheritances, sparking inequality and resentment. (08:52)

• The Role of Power, Sex, and Control

  • Relationships were arranged for power—older men (like Danny’s father) married founder’s daughters as a way to cement influence and resources. (13:39–16:41)
    • “Even if the sex agenda didn’t come out at first, it eventually rears its ugly head.” – Danny [16:41]
  • Abusive spiritual rationalizations (“old souls” justify adult-teen marriages) allowed predatory conduct to masquerade as enlightenment.
  • The cult’s ostensible spiritual practices masked basic, historic patterns of patriarchy and transactional relationships.

• Childhood Environment

  • Severe poverty was the norm—frequent moves, even lack of shoes, minimal food and resources. (23:19)
  • Kids often lived apart from biological parents, “passed around” to other families to sever primary attachment and enforce group cohesion. (23:42–25:59)
    • “There were like a dozen houses where families were living in and out of all the time...we were poor. Welfare doesn’t even cut it.” – Danny [24:53]
  • Truth-telling was weaponized; “process” meetings enforced public confession and humiliation under the guise of honesty.

Chess: Salvation, Obsession, and Instrument of Control

• Accidental Origins

  • The movie Searching for Bobby Fischer (1995) and a string of events—cult lockdowns, cult leader’s health problems—sparked a group obsession with chess. (27:06)
    • “We were all under house arrest, literally. So I watched this movie and learned how to play chess.” – Danny [27:06]

• From Hobby to Prodigy

  • Danny and other cult kids played incessantly, both for love of the game and, increasingly, to win approval from the cult leader. (29:49)
  • The collective poured all energy and resources into building a winning chess team as a way to prove legitimacy and superiority. (32:17)
    • “The mission of the collective was the chess team. Everything was about it. Garage sales were being done to raise money to send us to tournaments.” – Danny [32:17]
  • By age 12, Danny was an All-American and among the nation’s top young players. (30:30)

• Parallels with Soviet Chess Culture

  • The cult’s approach mirrored Cold War Soviet systems—children’s individuality was sacrificed for the group’s (or nation’s) perceived intellectual dominance. (31:54)

• Suspicion from Outsiders

  • The Shelby School (the cult’s “school”) was viewed skeptically; despite overwhelming wins, people suspected cheating because of the group’s insular, opaque nature.

Life inside the Cult: Family, Trauma, and Abuse

• Engineered Parental Separation

  • Children were deliberately separated from primary caregivers to reinforce allegiance to the collective and its leader. (41:00–43:52)
    • “Stephen Camp wanted to control me because he believed in chess and saw that I was a prodigy. If anything, that made [others] resent me even more.” – Danny [41:09]
  • Danny recalls the trauma of being “passed around,” ultimately living alone at 13 to facilitate chess travel (a scenario his abusers rationalized as “building independence”). (45:10–46:46)

• Physical Neglect and Health Consequences

  • Resulting instability and neglect led to chronic health issues: untreated ear infections, partial deafness, and tinnitus. (44:05–48:19)

• Schooling (or Lack Thereof)

  • Academic expectations were minimal (GED-level math, focus on grammar), with writing as the lone skill demanding rigor. (50:08)
    • “They were both grammar Nazis. Every paper I ever wrote, meticulously torn apart with a red pen.” – Danny [50:08]

The Cult Chess Coach: Igor Ivanov

• Background & Defection

  • Igor Ivanov, a brilliant, hard-drinking Soviet chess master, defected by literally fleeing the KGB during a plane stop in Newfoundland. (36:26–37:16)
    • “He literally runs away from the KGB to get across boundary lines to claim asylum.” – Danny [37:16]

• Role in the Collective

  • Hired as the in-residence chess coach, Igor lived in a double-wide trailer and introduced the children to elite training—often while drunk and even naked. (38:55–41:00)
    • “I learned how to make a proper screwdriver [vodka and orange juice] for Igor.” – Danny [39:56]
  • His open alcoholism contrasted with the community’s secret, “spiritually encouraged” alcohol abuse.

Chess as Both Weapon and Escape

• Leverage and Control

  • Danny’s chess supremacy was used by the cult leaders to justify extreme actions—removing him from his mother, isolating him, and rationalizing neglect in the name of “potential.” (43:17–45:10, 45:32–46:46)

• Trauma & Perspective

  • Danny grapples openly with the complexity of his past—acknowledging the abuse, recognizing hard-won skills (writing, resourcefulness), and seeking ongoing therapy.
    • “There is no excuse to be made for this. And also you appreciate that this was an environment that was completely out of control…spiritual verbiage and language being used to rationalize base instincts of money and power and ultimately sexuality being leveraged.” – Danny [22:08]

• Resilience & Success

  • Despite his lack of formal education, he leveraged curiosity, drive, and communication skills into later success—most notably as the face of Chess.com.

Chess and the Cult of Superiority

• Parallel with Cold War Geopolitics

  • Danny draws parallels between his upbringing and the Soviet chess machine, both using perception of achievement as self-justification and as a self-fulfilling prophecy. (54:48)
    • “Chess, especially in regards to how the Soviet Union approached it, [is] very similar to the cult that I was raised in.” – Danny [54:48]

• Gatekeeping and Elitism

  • Pre-internet chess was strictly hierarchical: you were either part of the elite (cult, grandmaster) or struggling for scraps.
  • Danny hints at how his later work (Chess.com) challenges that model by democratizing chess.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “This whole thing that we had that was this spiritual idea was actually just like alcohol, money, kind of narcissism.” – Danny [16:41]
• “We weren’t cheating. We literally were in an environment that, like, they couldn’t have replicated if they want to. We just don’t teach them math.” – Danny/Jordan [31:14–31:16]
• “My relationship with my dad is complicated. Him and Marlo are still together to this day, so they have figured out a way to make that relationship work. Although again, they were also knee deep in the cult and cult leaders themselves.” – Danny [16:41]
• “I am acknowledging that there’s a lot of evidence historically…that the whole idea of the contract for the woman to be given for land is unfortunately a thing that has existed for way too long.” – Danny [22:08]
• “There were like a dozen houses where families were living in and out of all the time…we were poor. Welfare doesn’t even cut it.” – Danny [24:53]
• “I learned how to make a proper screwdriver [vodka and orange juice] for Igor.” – Danny [39:56]
• “Nothing says healthy mentorship like a drunk naked Russian defector playing Don’t Cry for Me Argentina on the piano while you prep for Nationals.” – Jordan [48:19]

Important Timestamps

• 03:28 – Danny reveals he was born into a cult
• 06:18–07:24 – Cult joins finances; spiritual vs. material rationale
• 13:39–16:41 – Arranged marriages, sex, and power in the cult
• 23:19–25:59 – Poverty, collective living, and rationing
• 27:06–30:56 – Chess origins and rise to prodigy
• 32:17 – The chess team as the collective’s mission
• 36:26–41:00 – Igor Ivanov’s story and impact
• 41:00–46:46 – Passing kids between families, engineered separation, and solo travel as a minor
• 50:08–52:15 – Education, focus on writing, and how that shaped Danny’s future
• 54:48 – Parallels between chess cult and Soviet chess supremacy

Tone and Style

• Danny recounts his experience with self-aware humor, humility, and raw honesty, often oscillating between disbelief at his own past and recognition of its deep scars.
• Jordan’s tone remains empathetic yet wry, frequently highlighting the absurdity and injustice of cult dynamics.

For Listeners New to the Show

This episode is a wild, often jaw-dropping journey through trauma, survival, and inadvertent greatness—exploring just how far people will go to belong, and how unexpected passions can provide both lifeline and leverage. Chess lovers and cult enthusiasts alike will find plenty to ponder, and Danny’s story offers a rare, unvarnished look at the hidden costs of genius manufactured for someone else’s benefit.

End of Part One. Part Two Coming Soon.