What is the final move in chess?

Endgame The final move in Chess has no name per se. Many times a game ends with a checkmate, so "checkmate" can be considered in most but not all cases as the final move. However, some games end when a player loses by running out of time. Some games end in a stalemate or a draw. A draw can be by rule or by agreement. In in any of those situations, the last move is not a checkmate, therefore you cannot say the last move is called a checkmate. As far as "endgame" goes, that term refers to the last of the three stages of a chess game. The first two are the opening and middle game. The endgame cannot be defined with any specific description. However, many times a game may be said to be in the "endgame" stage after the queens have been taken off the board. Even this is not always the case. If the queens have been traded off early in the game with most other pieces still on the board, the game is still in the middle game stage.