The pivotal center
I have struggled for a few years to understand what the center is about. That is partly caused by the veil of mystery that surrounds it. I think I finally got the point what the fuss is all about. Stripped from its whiff of magic, the center is about the pivotal points in the lines of attack (LoAs). To give your pieces the greatest statistical potential, they need squares where they can hop from one point of the board to another. To formulate it more precise: where your attackers can attack their target. That makes all the ideas of conquering the center, or the rules like put your pieces in the center, or put your pawns there obsolete. I now have a method to judge the value of a move. Not what is its effect on the center, but what is its effect on the pivotal points of your LoAs.