The Three Stages of a Game

A game of chess has three stages. The stages are the opening, the middlegame, and the endgame.

The opening

Pieces leave their starting squares. The position below is after the first moves of a game.

FEN: rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1

a b c d e f g h
8 r n b q k b n r 8
7 p p p p p p p p 7
6 . . . . . . . . 6
5 . . . . . . . . 5
4 . . . . . . . . 4
3 . . . . . . . . 3
2 P P P P P P P P 2
1 R N B Q K B N R 1
  a b c d e f g h

The middlegame

Many pieces are still on the board. Plans in the middlegame use the whole board.

FEN: rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1

a b c d e f g h
8 r n b q k b n r 8
7 p p p p p p p p 7
6 . . . . . . . . 6
5 . . . . . . . . 5
4 . . . . . . . . 4
3 . . . . . . . . 3
2 P P P P P P P P 2
1 R N B Q K B N R 1
  a b c d e f g h

The endgame

Few pieces remain. The position below has only kings and pawns, so the kings must take part in the fight.

FEN: 4k3/8/8/8/8/8/4P3/4K3 w - - 0 1

a b c d e f g h
8 . . . . k . . . 8
7 . . . . . . . . 7
6 . . . . . . . . 6
5 . . . . . . . . 5
4 . . . . . . . . 4
3 . . . . . . . . 3
2 . . . . P . . . 2
1 . . . . K . . . 1
  a b c d e f g h

Key points

The opening is the first part of the game. Pieces leave their starting squares in the opening.
The middlegame is the middle part of the game. Most pieces are still on the board in the middlegame.
The endgame is the last part of the game. Few pieces remain in the endgame.
The king becomes a strong fighting piece in the endgame. The king stays behind its own pieces in the opening.
The stages blend into each other. There is no move that marks an exact change of stage.

Try it Yourself

Edit the code, then press Run.

Running is simulated · Rust Playground

Exercise

Which stage has only a few pieces left on the board?

The endgame The opening The middlegame The first move