starkravinghazelnuts:

“The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That’s not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us.”
    – Thor (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

“Endgame” is a term used to label the late stage of a chess game when there’s fewer pieces on the board–and the King becomes a more powerful figure. This is why Strange saved Tony–not only because Tony will be a pivotal figure moving forward, but to lose Tony would be checkmate. (x)