The title makes reference to the endgame where in chess it is the stage of the game when there are only a few pieces left on the board.
While Kimble is trapped in the house, Mr. Reed reminds Mr. Devlin that four jurors held up Kimble's trial for three days because of reasonable doubt. Mr. Reed is played by John Fiedler, who played Juror #2 in 12 Angry Men (1957), where a jury deliberates about reasonable doubt in a murder trial.
It is said here that four jurors held out for three days in favor of acquitting Kimble. In "Search in a Windy City," it was stated that three jurors held out for six days.
The ending narration once again shows Kimble hitchhiking at night on a lonely highway. This is the third time in season one this clip was used, and would be again several times in the subsequent black & white seasons.
Joseph Campanella and David Janssen's careers coincided only in this series, this episode being the first of four in which the two men appear, the others being: Set Fire to a Straw Man (1965), The Other Side of the Coin (1967), and The Judgment: Part I (1967).