It got its name, which comes from the Arabic for city (as does Medina in Saudi Arabia), after the Christian population was massacred and replaced by Muslims in 870.
They were in turn conquered by Normans from Sicily, and in 1530 the whole of the island was given by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to the Knights of St John.
It was the Knights who effectively transferred the capital to the coast, alongside the Grand Harbour, which was the main setting for the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.
But Mdina - pronounced Im-deen-er by the Maltese - still had symbolic and military value.
So the besieging Turks, looking for a way to boost morale and secure a base for the winter, advanced to attack the city when their efforts to force the Grand Harbour and its fortifications were held up.
The Mdina garrison was low in numbers and ammunition, but opened fire with its guns at a ridiculously long range, leading the Turks to cancel their planned assault as they assumed the city was abundantly supplied.
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| Main entrance to Mdina |
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| Close-up of the gate |
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| A typically walled and paved street |
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| View from a bastion with the Mediterranean in the distance |
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| Almost certainly St Paul - his shipwrecking on the way to Rome in about AD59 is traditionally located near here |
Malta Round 6
English Opening
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.e3
5.e4 is common at club level in the UK, not least thanks to Tony Kosten's The Dynamic English, but the text and 5.d3 remain the most popular moves at higher levels and abroad.
5...d6 6.Nge2 Nge7 7.Nd5!?
Unusual this early, but it seems reasonable.
7...0-0 8.Nec3!?
This may be a novelty. White's knight-dancing looks strange, but I could see no way to exploit it.
8...Be6 9.0-0
The game has transposed to a known position.
9...Qd7 10.Re1 f5
Now we leave Mega20 for good. 10...Nd8 was played in Vladimir Botto - Milan Cenker, Slovakian championship 1997.
11.d3 Rf7 12.Bd2 Raf8 13.Rb1 Nd8 14.b4 c6 15.Nxe7+ Qxe7 16.b5 Qd7 17.Qa4
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| How should Black meet the threat to the a7 pawn? |
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17...f4!
Offering the a7 pawn, but a line such as 17...cxb5 18.cxb5 b6 was distinctly unpalatable.
18.bxc6
Black gets a strong attack after 18.Qxa7, but the position is unclear. I intended 18...fxg3 19.fxg3 Rf2, when Stockfish10 and Komodo10 reckon White is OK after 20.Re2, but that Black has full compensation for the pawn.
18...bxc6 19.exf4 exf4 20.Ne4
A great square for the knight. Black will have difficulty evicting it while ...d5 can be met by Nc5.
20...fxg3 21.hxg3 h6
Just about playable is 21...Bh3? as 22.Bxh3 Qxh3 23.Ng5 can be met by 23...Qh6, but the text is better.
22.Bb4 Bd4 23.Rf1
The engines very slightly prefer to sac the exchange with 23.Bxd6!? Bxf2+ 24.Kh2 Bxe1 25.Rxe1 Re8, when they reckon White has full compensation.
23...Nb7 24.Bd2?
White needed to play something like 24...Bc3.
24...Kh7?
I looked at 24...Nc5 25.dxc5 dxc5 and rejected it because of 26.Bxc6?, but I did not look far enough as the engines point out 26...Qc7 (26...Rxf2!? also wins). So White has to allow 26.Be3 Bxe3 27.fxe3 Qxd3, or 26.Bf4 Bh3, when Bxc6 this time loses to 27...Qf5 with a huge attack for a pawn.
25.Be3 Bxe3 26.fxe3 Nd8 27.Nd2?
A very strange retreat as the knight was performing great duty on e4.
27...Bg4?!
27...Bf5 seems to give more pressure.
28.Rbe1?!
Preventing 28...Be2, but a less passive way to save the d3 pawn was 28.Rxf7+ Rxf7 29.Ne4, when 29...Be2?! can be simply met by 30.Qc2 (but not 30.d4?? Bd3 31.Rd1 Bxe4 32.Bxe4 Qg4 etc).
28...Bh3!?
Again ...Bf5 may be objectively slightly better, but the text exchanges off a major defender of the white king's position, making it easy for White to go wrong.
29.Rf4 Bxg2 30.Kxg2 Ne6 31.Rxf7+ Rxf7 32.Ne4 d5 33.Nf2?
White is fine after 33.cxd5 Qxd5 34.Qc4.
33...Nc5
Even stronger, according to the engines, is 33...Ng5.
34.Qc2?
Better is 34.Qd1 when 34...Qf5, as in the game, is not so catastrophic, although after 35.Rf1 dxc4 36.dxc4 Nd7 37.Qe2 Ne5, White's four isolated pawns will start dropping off.
34...Qf5
Threatens 35...Qxf2+! 36.Qxf2 Rxf2+ 37.Kxf2 Nxd3+ etc.
35.Re2 Qf3+ 36.Kh2 Rf5 37.Nh3??
Much better is 37.g4, but Black is more-or-less winning after 37...Rf7, eg 38.cxd5 cxd5 39.Nh3 (39.Qxc5?? Qxe2) Rc7, when White's g or e pawn will fall and her king remains exposed.
37...Rh5 38.Re1 Qg4 39.Qg2 Nxd3 40.Rf1 dxc4 41.a4 c3 42.Kg1 Rxh3 0-1
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