CHESMAYNE

Midi: Chapel

Center - the

  

French: centre – centre.    Centralisation - la centralisation.  

            Whatever is of enduring importance.   The core or hub of life, on which the center of time and space depend for their existence.   It is the nature of the symbolic mind to be able to relate to the idea of the center, whatever it is, and adapt fluidly when new centers are discovered.   From the beginnings of symbolism the center has been a dominant theme.   Omphalos [at the center of the world].    Nippur, Jerusalem and Delphi were each considered such centers of the world, as is Mount Fuji.   In the psyche the idea of reaching the center involves getting a free pass to any other complex or nucleus of energy within the psyche, and so being able to call on the different available forces at the appropriate moment.   All the different symbols of the center combine to suggest a mythical point where the center of the cosmos and the center of man’s life is one and the same. 

Cells D04, D05, E04 and E05 - the four cells in the very centre of the board.   Centre: the central four squares E04, D04, E05, D05 (block-A) or the sixteen cells including these and those next to them (Block-A and B).   The E and D-files are referred to as the center files.    See also Extended Center [link].  The middle of the board.    In the opening, both players should strive to occupy or control the centre.   The four cells in the geometrical center of the board.    The opening moves are meant to gain control of the center.    The area bounded by C03, C06, F03 and F06 is also considered central.    The centre of the board is of great strategic significance, as pieces placed there generally have the greatest scope.  

 

 

Centre Break:  the attack on two or more PAs abreast on the 4^th rank by an opposing PA in order to break up their formation.  

 

Centre Fork Trick: a series of moves where a KT is sacrificed for a centre PA, knowing that it can be recovered by a PA fork and the enemy’s central PA structure will be destroyed by doing so.  

 

Centre PAs: the KIs and QUs pawns. 

 

Centralize:  placing of pieces and PAs so they both control the centre, and influence other areas of the board.   Pieces usually have maximum mobility (and therefore power) when centrally placed.  

            Center/Circumference or edge: the fixed in contrast with the volatile, the still center in contrast with activity and turbulence.   Like the hub of the wheel, the center is the unmoved principle of all movement.   Symbolic centers take many forms: sacred cities, sacred mountains, Mount Gerizim, the ‘navel of the earth’ for the Hebrews, the Black Stone in Islam, the cosmic tree, the bridge or ladder, sanctuaries, temples, and cathedrals and even houses.   The center of the earth is where the mundane and the supernatural unite and communication between the human and the divine takes place.   Its importance is underlined by the imaging of the ‘axis mundi’ in many traditions.   Associated with it are certain sounds or music which symbolize the crossing from one level of reality to another. 

            Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929): “Mon center cede, ma droite recule, situation excellente”.   “My center gives way, my right retreats; situation excellent.  I shall attack”, [dispatch during Battle of Marne]. 

From Goddess web site: Interestingly, Schneider talks about how people are drawn toward the “center”, that nothing exists without a center around which it revolves “whether the nucleus of an atom, sun in the solar system, the heart of our body, hearth of the home, capital of a nation or black hole at the core of the galaxy.   When the center does not hold, the entire affair collapses”.  The heart analogy especially struck me; when a person loses her sense of direction and courage, she is called “faint-hearted” - notice, it’s not “faint-brained” or “faint-minded”, but “faint-hearted” - now I understand why this is so, and why the “center” squares of the chessboard are so important - control them and you control the whole board.  Otherwise, you’re just dancing around the edges waiting to fall off.   When reading about chess it is always pointed out how important it is to “control the center”, de yada de yada, it was just words before, but now I SEE!   Isn’t that a line from “Amazing Grace”?  LOL!