At the regular Saturday morning get together at Caffe Carlucci, four Dragons played a consultation game at the end of which was a pretty combination.

For some years now a few Dragons have been getting together at a coffee house somewhere in Edinburgh on Saturday mornings (usually 10am to 12pm) to play over games, solve studies and have a general chin wag about chess. For the last few weeks we have been meeting at Caffe Carlucci in Home Street (just opposite the Cameo Cinema) and the consensus appears to be that it's the best venue yet.

This Saturday, after some people left at around lunch time, the four remaining players decided to have a consultation game: Orr and Forrester (white) versus Tope and Jessing (black). You can play over the game but before you do, have a look at the position below and see if you can find the best move.

After a cagey opening (London System) white had only a slight edge due to black's poor queen's bishop when Tope/Jennings, unwisely, lashed out with 18...f6 and 19...e5, overlooking the possibility of a skewer winning the exchange. This is what happened except that black also got some attacking chances against the white king (which Orr/Forrester in turn had mostly overlooked). However, as it turned out, Tope/Jennings' king was also in danger and the following position was reached with white to play. Can you spot the best move?

One possibility is 28.Bxe5 since black cannot take the bishop without allowing checkmate on f8. This is not a bad move and is in fact what was played, after which Tope/Jennings resigned. However, 28.Bxe5 is not the best move; there's a prettier and quicker alternative.