I am a newbie. am trying to step it up to 1600 bot Devon
Thanks for the reply aj. Yes, I see your point - probably the least disruptive but I am fond of that pawn line backed-up by a bishop and rook protecting my king. I think the biggest obstacle for both black and white stems from the g file having double stacked pawns - before this happened I was trying to take the H8 rook for a back rank mate but now that looks unlikely to say the least. Thanks again for the reply!