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

  • Bulls, Bears, Ditka

    Episode  |  August 9th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  42 mins 56 secs
    6 player, barkthin, chess, coffee, ireland, scc, snacks, speed chess, streaming, travel, twitch

    Motz is off working in Ireland and Danny comes in strong with a wide range of amazing accents. Speed Chess Championship is in full swing and Danny breaks down the action while snacking on some barkTHINS.

  • Make Your Dreams Come True

    Episode  |  August 2nd, 2018  |  Season 1  |  33 mins 7 secs
    books, chess, coffee, dream teams, family, hockey, shia, speed chess, teamwork, tech, work

    Shia drops by the studio to re-confirm that nothing is impossible that we really should be making our dreams come true. Danny has been crushing the speed chess championship and Motz attends Ant-Man vs the Wasp all by himself and it was lovely.

  • Ant-Man vs Wasp vs Caruana vs Aronian

    Episode  |  July 26th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  38 mins 22 secs
    ant-man, aquaman, chess, coffee, life, marvel, scc, speed chess, tech

    The Speed Chess Championship is underway and we have a full breakdown of the Caruana vs Aronian match. Motz and Danny start to read a book together and you can join in, and Motz finally goes to see Ant-Man!

  • Playing the Protein Powder Field

    Episode  |  July 19th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  33 mins 9 secs
    analysis, chess, coffee, family, meal replacement, protein powder, soylent, teaching, tech

    The war between the meal replacement and protein powder has began! We put the past in the past as Motz slowly starts to lose each and every chess game, but Danny assists in telling him how he has been doing everything wrong.

  • Bacon and Butter, Danny's Best Friends

    Episode  |  July 12th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  39 mins 23 secs
    ant-man, avengers, chess, coffee, heat, marvel, movie, tech, thanos, wasp

    Summer is in full effect and Danny is sweating it out in 110+ degree weather. We dive deep on Ant-Man vs Wasp (as Motz calls it), the epic Reddit Thanos banning of 2018, and actually diagnose real chess matches that Motz is getting destroyed in.

  • Not Sure If We Will Have Time

    Episode  |  July 5th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  41 mins 43 secs
    4th of july, avengers, board games, chess, coffee, coffee lids, dream teams, gifts, marvel, milk frother, riza, tech, ticket to ride

    It is 4th of July again! Before we set off on firework adventures we take a look at the crazy world of FIDE and the madness surrounding the next president. Motz also adventures to Costco in his tiny smart car and Danny recaps his crazy weekend at John's wedding!

  • Our Rhymes Are Tight

    Episode  |  June 28th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  28 mins 26 secs
    alaska, anchorage, birthday, life, mc, parenting, story, wedding

    It was someone's birthday this weekend and what a story does he have in store for our listeners! Danny heads off to the amazing wedding of our friend John and for the first time he has no role in a wedding except to just be himself...

  • Pump That Bass & Throw That Iron

    Episode  |  June 21st, 2018  |  Season 1  |  32 mins 15 secs
    adopts, chess, coffee, crazy, komodo, nakamura, so, speed chess, tech

    We take a look back at Motz and Danny's childhood and the interesting paths they both took to get here today. Then we break down all the crazy that is happening in the chess world including accounts getting hacked, Nakamura adopting Komodo, and two factor authentication.

  • Danny Is On A Boat!!!

    Episode  |  June 14th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  17 mins 34 secs
    boat, chess, coffee, family, lake, proposals, tech, vacation, wedding

    That's right, for this special edition of Blunders, Danny is recording live from the top of a boat! We look back at the glorious wedding we recently attended and discuss proposals.

  • #NotMyHansSolo

    Episode  |  June 7th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  45 mins 15 secs
    alerts, chess, coffee, cooking, hans, magnus, norway, so, solo, star wars, tech, wedding

    It is all chess all the time on Blunders this week! Norway chess just wrapped up and we have the full breakdown of all the awesome that occurred. Additionally, we break down our actual thoughts on Solo: A Star Wars Story even though we haven't seen it yet.

  • He Who Dances at Weddings

    Episode  |  May 31st, 2018  |  Season 1  |  30 mins 32 secs
    10% happier, chess, coffee, meditation, russia, spain, spanish, stress, tech, travel, twitch

    Motz is off traveling again, but leads to some interesting discussion about Danny's Russian past, wanted to speak new languages, and how Motz is slowly falling in love with Spain. We also discuss the "International Chess Language" and how chess players are catering to different audiences online.

  • Story Telling with Danny and Motz

    Episode  |  May 24th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  37 mins 55 secs
    back, back pain, belgium, chess, coffee, corn, deadpool, deadpool 2, russia, snacks, tech

    We did it!!! Finally a spoiler free #Blunders, but with plenty of Deadpool 2! Then it is our own story telling time as Motz has hurt his back yet again and Danny remembers his adventures in Russia from time passed.

  • Tiny Hands with Ryan Reynolds

    Episode  |  May 17th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  47 mins 7 secs
    baseball, blenders, chess, coffee, date night, deadpool, deadpool 2, edge, family, kids, little league, marvel, movies, ninja, ryan, school, tech, underwear, windows 10

    Danny plans a date night for his wife and Ryan Reynolds while staying completely off the grid. Motz is on the hunt for the ultimate blender to make the perfect smoothie and worlds collide on Ninja madness.

  • Beam Me Up FIDE

    Episode  |  May 10th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  42 mins 36 secs
    chess, coffee, fide, president, solo, star wars, stories, tech, whiskey

    It is time for some Whiskey and some inter-galactic FIDE discussion as the election for the next FIDE president heats up. Danny and Motz give their thoughts on Solo: A Star Wars Story's record breaking pre-sale numbers. In addition to this they also share some lovely coffee stories.

  • Danny Lives Inside the Soul Stone

    Episode  |  May 3rd, 2018  |  Season 1  |  40 mins 15 secs
    avengers, boulder, captain america, chess, coffee, infinity war, life, marvel, movies, ouch, real estate, tech, television, west world

    It is a new week, which means there is a new Marvel movie out. We try to not talk too many spoilers while still giving our full impressions. Motz talks about his biggest movie blunders and Danny tries to convince himself he isn't in a real estate pyramid scheme.

  • Solving Office Coffee and Tough Product Decisions

    Episode  |  April 26th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  52 mins 44 secs
    chess, coffee, eyes, family, gadgets, glasses, gunnar, oxo, product, spain, tech, travel

    Motz is back from his adventures in Spain and re-unites with Danny to talk about his latest coffee gadgets that hopefully solve Danny's problems he is having while at work. At the same time Danny missed Motzy so much that he can't hold back his excitement, but is making tough decisions in the world of chess.