The final stage of a game or competition, especially in chess when only a few pieces remain; also the final phase of any complex situation.
Compound of 'end' and 'game,' combining Old English 'ende' and 'gamen.' The chess term became popular in the 1800s and was later applied metaphorically to other contexts.
Chess endgame theory is brutally mathematical—computers have solved some endgames perfectly, meaning grandmasters study exact sequences that guarantee victory or draw, making it one of the most rigid parts of chess.
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