endgame

In chess and chess-like games, the endgame (or end game or ending) is the stage of the game when few pieces are left on the board.
The line between middlegame and endgame is often not clear, and may occur gradually or with the quick exchange of a few pairs of pieces. The endgame, however, tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn by advancing it to the eighth rank. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and act as a useful attacking piece.
The simplest endgames have been solved, that is, the outcome (win, loss, or draw) of best play by both sides is known, and textbooks and reference works teach the best play. Most endgames are not solved, and textbooks teach useful strategies and tactics for them. The body of chess theory devoted to endgames is known as endgame theory. Compared to chess opening theory, which changes frequently, giving way to middlegame positions that fall in and out of popularity, endgame theory is less subject to change.
Many endgame studies have been composed, endgame positions which are solved by finding a win for White when there is no obvious way to win, or a draw when it seems White must lose. In some compositions, the starting position would be unlikely to occur in an actual game; but if the starting position is not so exotic, the composition is sometimes incorporated into endgame theory.
Chess players classify endgames according to the type of pieces that remain.

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