Endgame

Also known as:ending

The third and final stage of a game of chess.

Drawing an exact line between the middlegame and the endgame is hard. The endgame usually arrives once most of the pieces have been traded, the queens first of all. Yet the absence of queens is not in itself a required sign. An endgame is possible with queens on the board — queen endings, for example.

Compared with the middle of the game, the endgame has these main features:

1. The value of every piece grows considerably.
2. The king turns from a target of attack into an active, attacking piece that takes part in the play on equal terms.
3. The role of the pawns grows immeasurably.

The main factors that decide the evaluation of an endgame are material advantage, the activity of the king and pieces, and pawn weaknesses.