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

  • A Manventure with Banana Dan

    Episode  |  September 7th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  45 mins 20 secs
    chess world cup, coffee, december dripper, fellow coffee, four player chess, nathan for you, pax, penny arcade expo, pour over, space, video games

    What a week! It is the start of the Chess World Cup, aka the largest chess event of the year. Danny crushes it in some four player chess and now has access to some of the best coffee making tools thanks to Motz.

  • Glamp It Up!

    Episode  |  August 31st, 2017  |  Season 1  |  44 mins 16 secs
    alexa, camping, chess, coffee, echo, engine, flights, frontier, glamping, speed chess, travel, whole foods

    Summer is coming to a close, but chess is rocketing to all new heights just like Motz is on his first ever Frontier airlines flight. All this while Danny takes to glamping.

  • A Total Eclipse of the Heart

    Episode  |  August 24th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  43 mins 27 secs
    chess, coffee, pro chess, solar eclipse, speed chess

    It is total eclipse week and both Motz and Danny survived without staring into the sun for too long. Danny locks in some speed chess championship while Motz reminds everyone to donate their solar eclipse glasses.

  • We'll Take 3 Draws

    Episode  |  August 17th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  49 mins 40 secs
    blitz, chess, chess vision, computer, ebike, kasparov, mastering chess, net neutrality, saint louis rapid blitz

    The wait for Kasparov is over! This week he is back in full force at Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz and we take a look at the early results. All of this is happening while Motz is zooming around on a new eBike, Danny steps up his computer game, and we take a look into net neutrality and its impact on everyone.

  • Chess Is Like Mario Kart

    Episode  |  August 10th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  44 mins 50 secs
    ai, chess, coffee, good coffee, hario, heat, kids, parenthood, seattle, seeing ai

    This week Danny explores the wonderful world of at home ground coffee, playing blitz with giant chess pieces, and why his kids are awesome. Motz on the other hand is trying to beat the Seattle heat and explores the world of AI.

  • Ergonomically Inappropriate

    Episode  |  August 3rd, 2017  |  Season 1  |  38 mins 37 secs
    ai, chess, chrome, coffee, edge, hotel robots, pour over, robots, tesla, trash talk

    School is in full swing for Danny's kids and Motz has gone completely overboard on organizing his home office and it feels great. On top of that we discuss robots and trash talking chess players!

  • Establishing the Norm

    Episode  |  July 27th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  49 mins 55 secs
    back to school, chess, chessable, coffee, house hunting, space x, speed chess, speed chess championships

    The speed chess championships are in full effect and Danny is all in, while Motz is aimlessly walking around trying to catch Pokémon in Pokémon Go! We tackle awesome listener feedback and chit chat about trying to find a home and the TI-83+ calculator Danny purchased for his kids as they prepare to head back to school.

  • Nakamura Live

    Episode  |  July 20th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  37 mins 53 secs
    2500, chess, nakamura, oats studios, ratings, spiderman

    Hikaru Nakamura takes center stage live streaming non-stop blitz for the world to see, all while our very own amazing Danny breaks 2500 for the first time and Motz reveals his new love of Oats Studios.

  • Chess Camp

    Episode  |  July 13th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  45 mins 32 secs
    amazon, blitz, chess, chess center, prime day

    Prime Day has ruined Motz's week, while Danny records live from lovely hotel conference rooms in Tucson as he leads a chess camp. In addition to all this Chess Center is back and there is a big focus on Blitz!

  • The Return of Kasparov

    Episode  |  July 6th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  39 mins 23 secs
    baby driver, chess, fireworks, july 4th, kasparov, magnus, movies, music, science

    Happy 4th of July! Excitement for fireworks aren't the only thing happening this week as Magnus is back in the meme light and Motz gets to the theater to fall deeply in love with Baby Driver.

  • Doing Alright

    Episode  |  June 29th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  49 mins 58 secs
    chess, magnus, maurice, paris grand chess tour, stolen laptop, tsa

    Magnus crushes at the Paris Grand Chess Tour while Maurice crushes his spirits shortly after, just like Danny's spirits were crushed when someone stole his laptop this week.

  • When in Oslo Do As Magnus Does

    Episode  |  June 22nd, 2017  |  Season 1  |  45 mins 3 secs
    climate change, coffee, ethiopia, father's day, in da chess club, norway, norway chess, pro chess league, tricycle

    Danny goes big downhill on a tricycle for Father's day all while Motz is still still attempting to recover from visiting the motherland of Magnus!

  • The Xbox Whaaattt???

    Episode  |  June 15th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  43 mins 27 secs
    blokus, bullet chess, chess, chess championship, chess podcast, coffee, e3, espresso, magnus, netflix, nintendo, norway, oslo, sony, star wars, xbox one, xbox one x

    This week we take a look at the life of Magnus, from the start to world champion as we watch his documentary. It is also E3 week with tons of technology and video game blunders that Motz and Danny investigate.

  • Troubleshooting Chess Openings

    Episode  |  June 8th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  50 mins 51 secs
    adapters, amazon prime, blokus, chess, chess openings, hd homerun, lavazza, plex, troubleshooting

    Motz attempts to master the Ruy Lopez while sipping some pod based glorious espresso all while Danny experiences Amazon Prime Now for the first time ever!

  • Who Took My Cookie?

    Episode  |  June 1st, 2017  |  Season 1  |  45 mins 18 secs
    chess, children, holiday, magikarp jump, mating net, pokemon, seaplane, speed chess, vacation

    This week Motz finds out exactly what a mating net is, learns how to fly in a seaplane without crashing, and how Danny is surviving the first week of summer vacation with his children.

  • What Happened to Bobby Fischer?

    Episode  |  May 25th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  44 mins 11 secs
    android go, bobby fischer, chess, coffee, fidget cubes, home roasting, robovac, speed chess, spinners

    Guillotine chess, roasting coffee at home, and understanding the craze and addition to spinners and fidget cubes, all while Danny preps for the Speed Chess Championship.