The Center of the Board Will Yield a Sure Reward

It has been said, "Control the Center and you will control the Game."

Think of a chess board in the same way an archer thinks of his target. An archery target has a center worth 10 points, and concentric rings of diminishing value the further from the center that the archer hits.

The center of the chess board consists of e4, e5, d4 and d5. This center is surrounded by bands of squares that diminish in strategic value the further they are from the center. The band of 12 squares closest to the center is sometimes called the "outer center." The outer band of 28 squares is called the "edge," or the "rim."

The great Prussian / German chess master Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch is often quoted with the quip "the Knight on the rim is dim." This quote can be illustrated by comparing a Knight's influence from the center with its influence from the edge. As seen in the following diagram, a Knight in the center controls 8 squares, whereas a Knight on its home square controls but 3. 

It is indeed important to control the center in every phase of the game, and it is therefore important to take control of the center from the very opening of the game. For this reason, former World Champion Bobby Fischer espoused the mantra "P-K4, Best by test."

The following game was played in San Francisco, CA at the US Juniors Chess Championship in July of 1957. The game is a wonderful demonstration of the power wielded by the player with better control of the center.

The Center of the Board will yield a sure reward,

So move your Pieces toward the Center of the Board.

Because it is from there you can move anywhere,

So move your Pieces toward the Center of the Board.

You might enjoy a video presentation of this lesson: