The Endgame

There’s a point in every chess game where the position simplifies. Most of the pieces are gone. What’s left is exact — every move either matters completely or doesn’t matter at all. There’s no noise left to hide in.

Painting gets there too, eventually. You strip enough away and what remains is either working or it isn’t. No texture to blame it on, no technique to point at.

The endgame is the honest part.