Centralization

Etymonline dates centralize to 1795 in the sense of to bring to a center, formed on the model of the French centraliser of 1790, and remarks that it is a word from the French Revolution; the noun centralization follows in 1801, and central comes from Latin centralis, from centrum. The chess application was given its most systematic treatment by Nimzowitsch, whose Die Praxis meines Systems opens, in the German text reproduced at nimzowitsch.net, with a first part headed 1. Die Zentralisierung, subdivided into sections on neglect of the centre, the vitality of the central troops, combined forms of centralization, mobile pawn masses in the centre, giving up the pawn centre, and centralization as a deus ex machina. Wikipedia's chess glossary defines centralization as moving a piece or pieces toward the center of the board, where they will not only control the center but also extend their influence to other areas, notes that pieces are best placed near the centre because they increase their power and maneuverability, singles out knights as particular beneficiaries, and gives decentralization as the antonym. No source fetched dates the first chess use of the English word or credits any individual with coining it.

First documented: n.a. for the chess sense; the English word centralize dates from 1795 per Etymonline — n.a. for a first chess use; Nimzowitsch's Die Praxis meines Systems devotes its first part to Die Zentralisierung