Amateur who is learning here, WHY do we try to control the center

Well, for starters, it's pretty hard to launch any real attack if your opponent controls the center.

But, if you're playing against someone who is a total novice, strategy doesn't matter as much as tactics and not screwing up.

>>51646260
I just feel like I've been developing my meta against more meta, and I keep wondering "So say I let the opponent take my center while I come up around the side. What then?"

it's hard to corner a piece that is in the center

I'm not even a chess player, but doesn't the center a) serve as an important route for traversing the board and b) allow for the most movement options?

>>51647141
>>51647121
To add onto this cause I realize I'm sounding stupid:

It's not that I don't see any inherent advantages to the center or anything, I just feel weak in that area because I haven't really properly studied the strategy that went around into discovering "Holy shit protect the center", if that makes sense.

>>51647158
I really don't think it's brain rocketry? Pieces in the centre have more options open to them than pieces along the edges. More options=more chances to fuck your opponent and dodge being fucked.

>>51646127

Amateur bullshitter here, but it's basically losing board control if you don't control the center. Basically imagine every square that your pieces can reach as your choices/area of control. If you've got a non-pawn piece crammed up against the edge of the board, they're giving up roughly half their utility.

Now, that doesn't mean don't do that if you get an opening from moving toward the edge, but it's why center control affords a great deal of advantage to whoever can achieve it.

>>51646127
Another way to think of it is "don't let yourself get boxed in".

I'm a total amateur, but I find that getting a few shots across the board lined up makes other inexperienced players more likely to make a mistake I can exploit, because they have to fight a battle on a couple fronts.

It is pretty rare that we discuss chess.

Post this to the board games discussion.

>>51646260
This
>>51647141
Also this

>>51647106
And this is the distressing thing about chess. It's so well documented, and has been around long enough,that the best time you'll have playing is when you're bad at it. Because to get really good you don't play anymore--you memorize the hundreds of openings that have been around for so long that there are centuries old books on them, that only mildly go out of date when masters come up with particularly clever responses.

>>51646127
If you hold the center, you can travel in any direction. More options beats less options every time. You've done those "mate in 5, white to move" puzzles before, yeah? They all revolve around denying options to your opponent so they have only a move they can make each turn.

>>51653947
That's why you play speed chess. Plus, there's something inherently more satisfying about capturing your opponents king rather than checkmating it.

File: Time Out Nigga.jpg (30KB, 394x480px) Image search: [Google]

30KB, 394x480px

>>51654651
I only play chess for fun as well, but isn't it not possible to capture a king? Don't you have to put it in check? By the time it could have been captured it should already be in checkmate right?

>>51655100
>but isn't it not possible to capture a king?
In blitz chess, capturing a king is shorthand for "I caught you making an illegal move, you are now disqualified."

>>51646127
Because the middle can move to attack or defend either side, but the sides can only really attack or defend that particular side. In other words, the middle has more options open to it so it's stronger.

>>51653947
>that the best time you'll have playing is when you're bad at it. Because to get really good you don't play anymore--you memorize the hundreds of openings that have been around for so long that there are centuries old books on them
This is so untrue it hurts to read.
Yeah, you have to study openings and end-games to get good, but everything in between is all you and your own skills. Chess doesn't get worse as you get better, it gets better. You get to think more deeply about your moves and the small nuances they each have. It goes from "lol I'm the one who initiated that trade!" into a complex organization of ideas related to the positioning of your pieces and how much of the board they control, as well as how many options you have open to yourself while limiting your opponent's options.

>>51655100
Technically the goal of the game IS to capture the king, they just take that out for the sake of time. Checkmate literally means "hey, in the next move I'll take your king no matter what you do."