The Squares of the City is a science fiction novel by British writer John Brunner, first published in 1965 (ISBN 0-345-27739-2).

It is a sociological story of urban class warfare and political intrigue, taking place in the fictional South American capital city of Vados.

It explores the idea of subliminal messages as political tools, and it is notable for having the structure of a famous 1892 chess game between Wilhelm Steinitz and Mikhail Chigorin.

[1] Judith Merril, however, found Squares "an impressive piece of work" with "complexities [that] add richness rather than spread confusion."

She noted, however, that the demands of the novel's "elaborate structure" weakened it by impelling Brunner to sacrifice character development in order to depict "interpersonal exchanges.