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Edmar Mednis vs Evgenij Ermenkov
"A Method to his Mednis" (game of the day Jul-22-2016)
NYC Invitational (1980), New York, NY USA, rd 11, Apr-??
Sicilian Defense: Paulsen. Szen Variation (B44)  ·  1-0

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a
1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
White to move.
ANALYSIS [x]
1-0

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1
FEN COPIED

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Kibitzer's Corner
Jan-20-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: Very nice game with a typical sicilian sac of the Knight on d5. If 22...Bd6, then 23.Rxf6 Qxf6 24.Rf1 Qe7 25.Rxf7

By the way, it is only a detail, but 30.Rxf7 is not a check.

Jan-20-04  d4Nf6Bg5: why 28...Qxf7 instead of 28....Rxf7
Jan-20-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: If 28...Rxf7, then 29.Qg6+ Kh8 30.Rxf7 etc.
Jan-20-04  kevin86: White's last move avoids mate,the last hope of black.
Jan-20-04  JustAFish: How about 22... Bd6 23. Nxd6+ Qxd6 24 Qf2? Looks like it wins a piece or mates.
Jan-20-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: <JustAFish> After 22...Bd6 23.Nxd6+ Qxd6 24.Qf2 Nxh5 25.Qxf7+ black can play 25...Kd8.
Jan-20-04  JustAFish: Thanks, Honza. This was tactical blindness... On move 25 of my line, the queen, of course, has moved, allowing the king an escape square. (Can you tell, I don't put these things through Fritz or work them out on a board before posting?) I guess the best that white can hope for in that line is to pick up the f7 pawn. The knight can be taken back 26. Qxh4.
Jul-06-06  builttospill: Mednis annotated this game in "How to play good opening moves," Which so far i've found extremely helpful in improving my opening. In my opinion, once you understand the opening you basically understand the bulk of chess. In this game Ermenkov's stubborn refusal to castle was exploited by Mednis and his incredible chess understanding. Mednis realized that after 15...h6 that Ermenkov's intentions were to leave the king in the center and launch an attack. However, Mednis's kingside had no weaknesses, and Mednis easily changed the tide with a counterattack that started really before he was even attacked. Giving away the knight on move 19 was a well calculated and principled move that was designed to open lines to the black king and educate Ermenkov and those of you following along on the importance of castling. Since the g-file was opened up thanks to Ermenkov's curious moves on 16 and 17, there's no safe haven for the king following 22. Nc4. It's still probably the best move to castle on move 22, including the move of choice as far as Fritz is concerned. Unfortunately for Ermenkov, Mednis plays chess as impressively as he writes about chess and from moves 25 on, Mednis busts out the tactics.
May-22-16  Cobax12: Great game by Mednis attacking the king's flank
Jul-22-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  An Englishman: Good Evening: Another example of the battles between the e4 & c4 vs. a6, b6, d6, & e6 pawn formations that dominated international chess during the late 70s and early 80s. Never played either side because I never understood the subtleties. Very similar looking positions would range anywhere from to .
Jul-22-16  RookFile: Mednis was very strong in the opening. He wasn't the greatest calculator, but with some of the opening advantages he got, it didn't matter.
Jul-22-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: It's odd. I thought that Mednis's name had been used in a recent game of the day, Mednis vs Timman, 1974, a repeat of an old pun: "Can I Play With Mednis?" I must be mistaken.
Jul-22-16  AlicesKnight: Pretty work from the first person to beat Fischer in an official US chess championship. Sacrifices on d5 are not uncommon but this one works with elegance and smoothness, 28.Bxf7 in particular being a good point.
Jul-22-16  kevin86: Black had a hopeless position, so he hoped white would be careless and allow mate, but white simply pushed the pawn and black resigned.
Jul-22-16  Ironmanth: Love this game. Thank you for this one. Easy to follow even with the subtle to not-so-subtle tactics present. Wonderful attacking concept by Mednis, one of my early heroes! Happy day to all. ITH
Jul-23-16  Moszkowski012273: 19.Bxe5,dxe5 20.Rxf6... is also another great way to play the position.
Jul-23-16  Moszkowski012273: <JustAFish> 22...Bd6 loses quite easily to 23.Rxf6...

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