N vs three Pawns

Hi, I recently had this endgame in one of my games:

 I eventually won the game, without thinking too much about it. But when i played the position against the computer i noticed that there were tons of moves that could have ended in a draw.

So how do i approach such an endgame, are there any principles I could follow that would make it a little easier, or is it just correct calculation?

well perhaps there is a chance that it would draw the game. it depend on the moves you do

In endgames against knights, there are only three principles: 1. Avoid forks. 2. Avoid forks. 3. Avoid forks!

And 4. avoid flat-out dropping pieces

Three pawns will generally beat a piece. But it of course depends on where the pawns are and where the kings are. The way you should approach those sorts of positions is to figure out which pawn is most likely to queen. If your opponent can't stop that pawn, push it (obviously). If your opponent can stop it, then you should try to figure out a way to use your other two pawns to tie your opponent's king and piece down, and while they're defending the other two pawns, shove the first one to promotion. But these are all general guidelines, and completely depend on the position (it's much easier to win against a knight, especially with pawns on both sides of the board, for example.). Hope this is at least a little helpful!

What a great position to have if you're white.. Especially if you have some decent time on the clock :)  Worst that can happen is a draw.  I'll be honest, I don't know of any 'principles' that should be employed, but trying to keep them connected w/ your king, and your king in front (to take away defensive squares for the enemy king) seem to be fairly logical for such a position.

Look at the moves the computer chose to draw.  Seems like an obvious way to learn about such principles (maybe too obvious)...

And one more thing: the critical skill you must have in these endgames is figuring out where to put your king. If your king is in the best spot it can be, whether it's helping a pawn queen at one end or in the center defending a weak pawn, it will be impossible to defend as black. So have a plan! And use your king to execute it.

Wow... so subtle, and so blunt andy :)