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Reader question: Please explain “end game” in this sentence: We are happy to finally see signs that an end game is approaching. My comments: This means the end to some painful course of events is coming and people are happy to see it. Course of events, like the course of river – with many twists and turns. The “end game” points to such a long process, a series of related events because this term is borrowed from the game of chess. In chess, they talk about the game in three stages, the opening stage, the middle and the end, also known as the opening, middle or end games. The three stages are different in that in the opening stage, you move your pieces around and prepare for battles with the opponent; in the middle game, battles are fought; in the end game, winners and losers are soon decided. You’ve heard of the term “opening gambit”, and that’s chess-speak for the opening series of moves you play in a particular match in order to place your forces in strategic positions. Strategic means you put your men into situations where they can succeed, with people protecting each other from one and all directions. This is important, especially for the strategic minded people. Lesser chess players are known to prefer fighting the opponent from the word “Go”. They eat as many pieces of the opponent’s as they can and, in fact, as soon as they can – thinking that if “I take all your pieces, I win”. | 
