Book of combinations in middlegame

The popularity of books on combinations among chess players has a deeper reason than mere love of the brilliant, the sensational, the unexpected. No doubt this love is an integral part of their attraction, but deeper down there is the realization that the combination is an essential part of the game. When both sides have played tenaciously and well, there comes a time when the players are, as it were, on the verge of deadlock, with a draw as the inevitable result. Than the supreme effort, the combination, comes to the rescue, not necessarily to win a piece or to bring about mate, but, possibly, merely to effort a breach or to gain the essential tempo which will enable the player to turn the scales in his favour.