If you control and/or occupy the center of a chess board, then you can move to any place of the board faster than your opponent. The board's center is the high ground of a chess battle.
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[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kuzmin"]
[Black "Sveshnikov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "David Hayes"]
[BlackElo "0"]
[FEN "r1b2rk1/2qpbppp/p1p1p3/2Pn4/N2B1P2/3B4/PP4PP/R2Q1RK1 w - - 0 1"]
[SetUp "1"]
[TimeControl "0"]
[WhiteElo "0"]
1. Nb6 Nxb6 { White is now ready for the kingside assault, having prepared the
battlefield by luring black's knight far away from the defense of the king. } 2. Bxh7+ Kxh7 3. Qh5+ Kg8 4. Bxg7 Kxg7 5. Qg4+ Kh7 6. Rf3 Rg8 7. Rh3+ Bh4 8. Rxh4# 1-0