The center: the most important squares on the board

The middle of the board is the most important place in chess. A piece in the center reaches in every direction, and it quickly gets to where the fight is, whether that turns out to be on the kingside or on the queenside. A knight on d4 reaches eight squares. In a corner it reaches only two.

Controlling the center

It isn't enough to put pieces in the center. They also have to be able to stay there. So players talk about controlling the center: having pawns and pieces that guard the squares there. Pawns are good at it, because an enemy piece rarely wants to stand where a pawn can capture it.

There are two schools. The classical one puts pawns in the center right away, with moves like e4 and d4. The other controls the center from a distance, for example with a fianchettoed bishop, and attacks the opponent's center only once it has been built. Both work.

Open and closed centers

In an open center the pawns in the middle have been traded off, and the pieces can move freely. There it pays to get the pieces out quickly. In a closed center the pawns have locked each other in place, often in long pawn chains. Then things move more slowly, and play often shifts out to the wings.

Read more about development and about the openings built on different ways of taking the center, among our chess openings.

Updated October 31, 2026