The Story of Endgame

It all started about fifteen hundred years ago. One of man’s most beautiful creations was released upon the world…the game of chess. Ancient kings played this ancient game as a means of pastime as well as a training tool for both life and war. Since then, time has passed, borders have moved and wars have come and gone. But chess has stood virtually unchanged.

As the game made its journey through the centuries, something terrible happened along the way. Somehow this game, with its rich and colorful history, was plagued by a horrible image in many parts of the world. The game’s heroes, who were once viewed as celebrities and graced the covers of magazines, have faded from the popular culture. And many of the great clubs and halls that witnessed decades of play have either closed up or had been all but forgotten.

This was the birth of Endgame, The Original Chess Apparel.

Based in Orange County, California, we created our first t-shirts in 2001 out of necessity. There simply was no chess apparel worthy of being worn in public. As chess players, we wanted to wear clothes that expressed our love for the game, but our only choices were a poor selection of novelty items. We could not understand how a game that was able to bestow the gift of joy or the curse of insanity could be reduced to a simple novelty. So we started designing chess t-shirts for ourselves. And then for other chess players who asked. And still again, for others who were not chess players, but loved the idea of what chess stood for.

Things are not always easy for a chess player. We live in a time when activities such as bowling and competitive eating are regarded as more prestigious sporting events than chess. The majority of our top players cannot earn a living from the sport they have dedicated their lives to. Yet these players continue to push forward, fueled by their passion for the game. They stand in opposition to a society that celebrates stupidity and persecutes intellectualism.

Endgame believes that intellectual passions, like chess, are at the very core of being human. Passion of the body is nothing without passion of the mind. It is our body that engages in the act, but it is our mind that provides us with the lasting joy of it.

We strive to show the intelligence, beauty and strength of chess. We strive to restore chess to its historically rightful place as one of the greatest gifts man has ever given itself. And we strive to do it all…one shirt at a time. Come join us!