Happy Halloween

Here is a design we did a while back called Prodigy. We were going to release it as a Halloween chess t-shirt, but never did...maybe next year.


Hope everyone has a great Halloween!!

Bishop vs. Knight - now available!!

Our newest design is now available...


We hope you dig this chess t-shirt that was inspired by the classic fight posters of the 50's. It was hand drawn and printed on navy with light blue discharge inks.

You can find it for sale at www.EndgameClothing.com

Have you seen this?

This is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It was on 60 Minutes last Sunday...

Don't mind the Viagra commercial, just watch it...HERE

And what does this have to do with chess? Well...nothing really.

Mysterious Video

I just received an email from a film company asking me to post this video...



I know nothing about it, but was pretty stoked to see a major namebrand energy drink involved with chess.

Check it out and let me know if you have any guesses as to who is inside the can???

What do you think about this??

The Bad Stuff

Part 2 - The Bad Stuff

You're probably thinking that running the greatest chess t-shirt company on the planet is a dream job. Well, I'm here to tell you it's not all Grey Goose and Grandmasters.

Here are the tough parts:

1. Inventory. Ok, not very exciting, but very important. I HATE to disappoint customers and run out of stock. But the problem is that we can't just go and print a handful of shirts. Our shirts are printed by an amazing shop that prints for huge name brands. We feel very lucky to have them print our shirts. So in order to keep our costs reasonable, we have to print large quantities.

And this assumes that I am able to get the blank shirts from our supplier. For instance, right now we are out of a few sizes on the Horsey design. My supplier will not have the "faded demin" colored shirt in stock for approximately 12 weeks. 12 weeks?!?!? Are you fucking kidding me? How can anything in 2009 take 12 weeks to accomplish? I just got off the phone with a 12 week old kid who already had his first IM norm under his belt.

So from time to time, we run out of stock. Hopefully people understand that this is just one of the fun things you get when you deal with a smaller independent company.

2. Photography. This has been an eye opener. I have now realized that I have taken for granted every single professional photograph that I have ever seen. I have never understood or even dreamed of the amount of detail and work required to get good shots. I guess I always just kind of thought that if the picture sucks then you need a better camera. Still working on this, making headway...but we have HUGE room for improvement here.

3. Search Engine Optimization. This is like playing chess with Google, except Google doesn't tell you the rules. I am constantly beating my head against the wall with this. I mean, come on!! There are not that many chess t-shirts out there...and you are going to tell me that Endgame doesn't deserve to be ranked on the first page? This means that there are millions of chess players who have never heard of Endgame. That makes me so angry, I want to punch a kitten.

4. The Internet can be a lonely place. It's strange to create something for people all over the world and never see them face to face. Or typing a blog in a dark room when you are never really sure if anyone other than my mom is reading it. Sure, I can see the traffic numbers, but are people really reading? Are they getting it? Do they dig Endgame? Believe it or not, some people do not like our designs...I know, I know...its hard to believe and it technically doesn't make them bad people. But there is a certain amount of arrogance in me that believes that every single chess player on the planet is going to love every design we create.

But in the end, the Bad Stuff means nothing.

The Good Stuff

When we first started Endgame, I had pretty huge expectations. I truly believe in my heart of hearts that we have created the best chess t-shirts the world has ever seen. Would I call these shirts historic? Well, that's really something for the academics to work out, but one guy did say that Fischer probably would not have quit chess if he had shirts like these.

So I figured that when the chess t-shirts were first released, I would be immediately hoisted upon the shoulders of Grandmasters and paraded through hallowed tournament halls...I would grace the covers of chess periodicals...I would be celebrated by having openings named after me. I might even be invited to do that ceremonial moving of the first piece in the upcoming World Championship match.

Well, none of that shit happened.

But there has been a lot of good and some bad.

Let's start off with some of The Good...

1. Meeting Top Players. As a fanboy, one of the amazing things about chess, is that many of our heroes are very accessible...you don't have to get through a huge entourage to say "hi." Normally I am just a jackass from the lower section...but now I am a jackass with some chess t-shirts. Recognize! And I am very happy to say that most of the titled players that I have approached have been very receptive and supportive.

2. Artists. I have always loved art. As a kid I was always a huge fan of comic books and animation. T-shirt design has been an exciting way to work with amazing artists who are able to do things in computer graphic design that I never knew existed. I really enjoy the process of watching a rough concept for a design turn into the finished polished product. I'll probably write more about this in the future as several people have asked about it.

3. Models. I have always loved models. Especially female ones! This part was tough. Like everything else with Endgame, I have an idea in my head as to how everything works out. With a shirt design, we can always tweak until we get it right. But with models, you first have to find the right one and then they have to agree to work with you. My male model, Dan, was easy to find. I work with him and he cracks me up...done deal. Trying to find the female model was much more difficult. Not only does she need to look right for the part, but did I mention that we are modeling chess t-shirts? Not exactly the high fashion that most models dream of. So I searched and searched. Most would never respond or follow through. There was one model who agreed, but every time I tried to coordinate a photo shoot, she was busy. Then I found Jazmin. End of story...she's perfect and I feel very lucky that she seems to really enjoy being involved.

4. Worldwide Web. I think this Internet thing will be around for a while. It makes work very convenient. The Internet has been criticized for turning us into an anonymous society with increasingly less human contact, but I'm hear to say that it has restored some of my faith in humanity. Every day, I deal with wonderful, passionate people...who I have never met face to face. We transmit ideas and money on a daily basis and, almost without exception, people do the right thing. Good job humanity!

5. Endgame Customers. Without a doubt, this is the best part. I never lose sight of the fact that people have found Endgame and then made the conscious decision to wear a chess t-shirt. Wearing a chess shirt is both a committment and a statement. One guy said it is pretty much like putting a big middle finger on your chest. It is one thing to be a fan of chess and to play in the safe confines of a club or behind an Internet connection. It is quite another thing to put on a shirt and strut your shit in public. Any pussy can wear Quiksilver or Volcom, but it takes balls to rock a chess shirt. Thank you to everyone.

Endgame Upset Prize - Week One

This season, Endgame is very proud to be sponsoring a weekly Upset Prize for the United States Chess League. This "upset prize" will be based on the largest rating difference between players. Draws are also eligible to receive this upset prize, once again using the rating difference, but a draws counts for only half of that rating difference when tallying the biggest upset.

Last night marked the end of week one. There were several exciting upsets, but only one could be named The Endgame Upset Prize...

The winner of the coveted Upset Prize for week one is IM Jonathan Schroer from the Carolina Cobras!! Even though IM Schroer was up against a whopping 225 rating point difference, he was able to secure the draw against GM Kritz.

Everyone wants to know exactly how IM Schroer felt when he found out he was the recipient of this prestigious award. Unfortunately, emails to the international master were not immediately returned. He must still be celebrating!!

For further details and information on the U.S. Chess League, be sure to visit their homepage.

New Endgame Chess T-shirts!

It's been a lot of work, but the new designs are now available at the main site.

Well...what are you waiting for?

Go get 'em!!

Best Laid Plans...

Well, summer is here and we almost have the spring shirts ready to go!! Best laid plans...

We have received a ton of emails asking when the new shirts are going to be released. We really appreciate how anxious everyone is, but we want to make sure everything is perfect.

We're not playing for a draw here, kids. The last piece of the puzzle is the photography. We want to make sure that every part of Endgame is the best we can do. Up to now I have been very proud of all aspects of Endgame...except the photography. Many of the photos on the site are just crappy shots I took with my cheapo camera. Some of them are just downright embarrassing. Well, that's all about to change!!

The photography with Jazmin, our female chess model, is finished and everything looks amazing. This afternoon, we are shooting our male model, Dan. So hopefully in a few more weeks, the photos will be edited and the site will be updated with the new chess t-shirts.

Hang in there, everyone...

***

In other news...Sean Trani filmed an interview with Grandmaster Var Akobian last month at the St. Louis Chess Club during the 2009 US Chess Championship. About halfway through the interview, Var has some very nice words to say about Endgame. Thanks, Var!!

Old Opponents

Do you ever feel strange playing a really old dude? And I don't mean just old. I mean way old and way overrated. I guess it's the opposite phenomena of the 12 year old kid who's abilities are increasing at a faster pace than his rating.

One of my biggest wins from a ratings standpoint was against an elderly gentleman who's best chess days were far behind him...but he would still come out to the weekend tournaments every once in a while with a smile on his face. Even in the summer, he would wear a collar and sports coat...both of which had to be at least 30 years old. He had the look of a widower who had not purchased a stitch of clothing since his wife's funeral many years ago.

He was 19 years old and serving as a chemist in the military when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor...and one afternoon several of us were captivated by his retelling of the experience.

This man once had a rating that I will never come close to achieving.

But was now being crushed in the lower section by some jackass like me.

So many others give up or become bitter when their abilities fade.

Not this guy.

He died a while back and I think about him quite a lot.