end game

or end·game

noun

Chess. the final stage of a game, usually following the exchange of queens and the serious reduction of forces.
the late or final stages of any activity: the end game of the negotiations.

Origin of end game

First recorded in 1880–85

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for end game

Contemporary Examples of end game

And no end-game for any sort of involvement has yet been outlined by proponents of American action.
How Not To Intervene In Syria
Ali Gharib
May 3, 2013
As Tony Karon put it on Twitter yesterday, what still dogs the Syria question is the "end-game problem."
Will We Go To War In Syria?
Ali Gharib
April 26, 2013
Leave the end-game to America; Clinton and Morsi will work out the details.
Obama's Biggest Opportunity Yet
Bernard Avishai
November 23, 2012

Historical Examples of end game

The handling of the King becomes of paramount importance once the end-game stage is reached.
Chess Fundamentals
Jos Ral Capablanca

Idioms and Phrases with end game

end game

The final stage of some process, as in The book discussed the diplomatic end game resulting in the treaty. This term, dating from about 1880, comes from chess, where it denotes the stage of a game when most of the pieces have been removed from the board. In the mid-1900s it began to be transferred to other activities.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.