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Chessendgame
Inchessandchesslikegames,theendgame(orendgameorending)isthestageofthegamewhenfewpiecesareleft
ontheboard.
Thelinebetweenmiddlegameandendgameisoftennotclear,andmayoccurgraduallyorwiththequickexchangeofa
fewpairsofpieces.Theendgame,however,tendstohavedifferentcharacteristicsfromthemiddlegame,andtheplayers
havecorrespondinglydifferentstrategicconcerns.Inparticular,pawnsbecomemoreimportantasendgamesoftenrevolve
aroundattemptingtopromoteapawnbyadvancingittotheeighthrank.Theking,whichhastobeprotectedinthe
middlegameowingtothethreatofcheckmate,becomesastrongpieceintheendgame.Itcanbebroughttothecenterof
theboardandactasausefulattackingpiece.
Whereaschessopeningtheorychangesfrequently,givingwaytomiddlegamepositionsthatfallinandoutofpopularity,
endgametheoryalwaysremainsconstant.Manypeoplehavecomposedendgamestudies,endgamepositionswhichare
solvedbyfindingawinforWhitewhenthereisnoobviouswaytowin,oradrawwhenitseemsWhitemustlose.
Usuallyintheendgame,thestrongerside(theonewithmorematerialusingthestandardpiecepointcountsystem)should
trytoexchangepieces(knights,bishops,rooks,andqueens),whileavoidingtheexchangeofpawns.Thisgenerallymakes
iteasiertoconvertamaterialadvantageintoawongame.Thedefendingsideshouldstrivefortheopposite.
Chessplayersclassifyendgamesaccordingtothetypeofpiecesthatremain.