In this episode of our Top 20 Chess Books countdown, IM Thomas Engqvist presents number 12 – a true classic that has been both celebrated and overlooked in the history of chess literature.
What makes this book so remarkable is that it systematically explores all pawn formations – in the sense of chains, squares, blockades, and other concrete patterns created by pawns. Today, we would more often use the word structures, but the author’s unique terminology captures the dynamic essence of how pawns interact and shape the game.
For reasons that remain puzzling, this terminology never gained wider acceptance – perhaps because many players focus too much on concrete variations, missing the fact that words and concepts can actually guide the moves themselves.
This book offers chess players not just a catalogue of pawn formations, but a conceptual key to understanding and mastering them in their own games. It can be read by players of all levels, but the true value lies in absorbing its terminology, which opens the door to a much deeper grasp of pawn power.
A neglected masterpiece? A misunderstood classic? Judge for yourself – but one thing is certain: this is one of the most unique and intellectually ambitious chess books ever written.
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