Coffeehouse Blunders

A weekly chat with Chess International Master Danny and Coffee Snob Motz on all things coffee, chess, tech, & the lives of these two adorable besties.

About the show

Join Daniel "Danny" Rensch and James "Motz" Montemagno each week on Coffeehouse Blunders as they discuss the latest in chess, coffee, tech, and anything else happening in their wonderful lives and around the world. Danny's life as an International Chess Master collides with Motz's mobile development and public speaking background for absolutely adorable and astonishing conversation.

Episodes and Blog Entries

  • S2 E7 The Queen's Gambit Breakdown: End Game

    Episode  |  January 16th, 2021  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 34 mins
    benny, beth harmon, borgov, moscow, netflix, queen's gambit, tqg

    The time has finally come, it is time for the End Game of The Queen's Gambit. Beth is heading to Moscow for the final showdown against Borgov. We break down the full lead up to the events in Moscow including her time with Jolene, her goodbye to Mr. Shaibel, and perhaps her last conversation with Benny.

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    S2 E6 The Queen's Gambit Breakdown: Adjournment

    Episode  |  January 7th, 2021  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 18 mins
    adjournment, benny, beth harmon, breakdown, chess, netflix, paris, queen's gambit, review, sicilian defense, tv

    Join International Chess Master Danny Rensch and "chess expert" James Montemagno as they break down the sixth episode, Adjournment, of the international sensation The Queen's Gambit. In this episode Beth heads to New York to study and crush Benny in some speed chess before she heads off to Paris where it all begins to play Borgov for the second time.

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    S2 - BRB: Danny Has COVID

    Episode  |  December 30th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  6 mins 13 secs
    chess, coffee, tech

    We have a short PSA about Danny and COVID. We will be back next week with our continuation of our breakdown of The Queen's Gambit.

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    S2 E5 The Queen's Gambit Breakdown: Fork

    Episode  |  December 23rd, 2020  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 15 mins
    benny watts, beth harmon, chess, coffee, harry beltik, netflix, tech, the queen's gambit, tqg, u.s. championship

    Beth returns from Mexico by herself, but not for long as Harry Beltik makes is epic return to assist Beth in crafting her skills. After some back and forth she lets Harry go and makes her way to the U.S. Championship to face off with Benny Watts once again. Danny and James are back to break down every single aspect of this episode in The Queen's Gambit: Fork.

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    S2 E4 The Queen's Gambit Breakdown: Middle Game

    Episode  |  December 16th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 48 mins
    analysis, breakdown, chess, coffee, daniel rensch, middle game, netflix, queen's gambit, season 2, tech

    We are heading off to beautiful Mexico City for the first showdown between Harmon and Borgov. This episode takes us a crazy ride as Beth really starts to find herself, grows closer to Mrs. Wheatley, plays the most difficult matches of chess yet, and it all ends with a tragic endgame. We breakdown the life, time, and chess in episode 4: Middle Game.

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    S2 E3 The Queen's Gambit Breakdown: Doubled Pawns

    Episode  |  December 9th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 23 mins
    benny, beth harmon, breakdown, chess, doubled pawns, las vegas, levenfish, najdorf, netflix, queen's gambit, review, sicilian defense, tqg, tv, u.s. open

    The Queen's Gambit reaches its stride as Beth continues her dominance in the world of chess across several cities beating out Master and Grandmaster players on her way to the U.S. Open in Las Vegas. This episode spans 3 years, a plethora of tournaments, and an epic conclusion with a head-to-head match with Benny. We break it all down.

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    S2 E2 The Queen's Gambit Breakdown: Exchanges

    Episode  |  December 2nd, 2020  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 40 mins
    beth, chess, coffee, exchanges, harmon, netflix, queen's gambit, season 2, tech

    Home sweet home. After studying and mastering 57 pages of the Sicilian Opening, Beth moves in with her new parents and wanders into her first Chess tournament. In this Blunders episode we breakdown every bit of the second episode of The Queen's Gambit: Exchanges including the run up to the Kentucky State Championship, and every single game that Beth played.

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    S2 E1 The Queen's Gambit Breakdown: Openings

    Episode  |  November 25th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 22 mins
    beth harmon, breakdown, chess, levenfish, najdorf, netflix, queen's gambit, review, sicilian defense, tqg, tv

    Welcome to Season 2 of Coffeehouse Blunders. We are back and breaking down every aspect of Beth Harmon's chess journey in The Queen's Gambit. What was chess like in 1967 in Paris, were the first matches realistic, is the Sicilian Defense the best thing to learn as a beginner, and how does a simultaneous really work.

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    Season 2 Trailer: The Queen's Gambit

    Episode  |  November 17th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  1 min 11 secs
    chess, coffee, netflix, queen's gambit, season 2, tech

    We are coming back by popular demand! This time for a full breakdown of the international sensation, The Queen's Gambit! Danny and James will break down every episode from the season and not only give you the insights from an International Master on how realistic the chess is, but also the life and times of Beth Harmon in the time era.

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    Danny Reads YouTube Comments

    Episode  |  January 24th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  19 mins 54 secs
    chess, comments, negativity, positivity, pro chess league, troll, youtube

    It is a wonderful day on the internet as Danny takes in some listener/watcher comments and has his own comments on the situation.

  • Super Dad & International Master Daniel Rensch

    Episode  |  January 17th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  20 mins 58 secs
    chess, danny

    What is there to say. Danny is amazing.

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    Danny... The Neural Network Expert

    Episode  |  January 10th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  38 mins 51 secs
    chess, chess.com, coffee, email, neural networks, pop, tech

    Did you know you used to be able to get your very own chess.com email address?!?! It is completely true! Danny breaks down the full history and also how Neural Networks and machine learning are going to take over the world.

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    Just Call Me Ninja

    Episode  |  January 3rd, 2019  |  Season 1  |  33 mins 2 secs
    chess, coffee, fortnite, games, movies, ninja, tech

    It's a new year and Danny is in his new "recording" studio with a make shift audio setup. We apologize for Danny's audio, but make up for it with some great holiday advice & Fornite family fun.

  • Poppa Cheese Is In The Mood For A Shrimp Burrito

    Episode  |  December 27th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  35 mins 33 secs
    aquaman, chess, dc, holidays, lazy sunday, marvel, review, youtube

    It is the holidays, which means there must be a super hero movie in the theater. In this completely spoiler-free podcast we break down our thoughts on Aquaman, why there is no Christmas chess tournament, and so much more.

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    Face, Google, Snap Time

    Episode  |  December 20th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  36 mins 21 secs
    aquaman, chess, coffee, dc, planet earth, tech

    One week until Christmas and all Danny and Motz can talk about is Aquaman, technology blunders, and Planet Earth 2. We also throw a little chess awesomeness in there :)

  •

    Hess & Rensch Snap Heard Around The World

    Episode  |  December 13th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  27 mins 14 secs
    avengers, godzilla, hess, movies, world chess championship

    It has been a few weeks, but we are back together forever with a full breakdown on our absence. We also chat about the new Avengers & Godzilla trailers and our holiday plans.