B & Ps vs. N & Ps

I managed to lose this position as black, under severe time pressure in a 15 | 10 game. Looking at it after the game, it struck me that if I moved the pawns onto white squares then the white B couldn't attack anything. It should then be an easy draw, time pressure or not! Or could the N do something as it commands squares of both colours?

What's wrong with 1... c6 2.Bg8 Kg7. ?

I like the pawn attacking B, and N protects the pawn that can be attacked by B (for now...). But with one minute to play I'd still be tempted to put all my pieces & pawns on white squares, so B can't attack anything - otherwise it might (say) sneak the pawn on rank 7 in a few moves.

With my cellphone there's no way to enter a diagram with moves. After 1... f6 the bishop must protect the pawn f4. So 2.Bb8 is forced.

Thanks for that f6 suggestion, I think it's a winning move! I think I missed snaffling all his Q side pawns... rats.

Obvious really. In future, under extreme time pressure (or not!) I'll look for "one move attacks" first rather than rushing to defence. 

Any other BP vs. NP endgames people would like to share? 

f6 is not winning [immediatly] because of Bb8.

Yes. Pf5 is a defence after Bb8 Kb7.

Sorry for spreading confusion.

Here is what hmpbil and chesskingdreamer are suggesting (with my attempt at a continuation... spotting that the black K can attack the white B):

I don't see how this leads to victory. Any thoughts on blacks general strategy for achieving a win?

I don't think you can win as black as the position is completely equal. The problem is both that white has no clear weakness (especially when white plays g3 in the future), and that black's king position is not good enough to get into white's position.

Your diagram above is absolutely correct in that it is an immediate draw by repetition since the diagonal is too short for white's bishop. If you played it like that you could not have lost on time.

You should invest in a good endgame theory book, like Mueller's 'Fundamental Chess Endings' exactly for this kind of question.  You'll see that in bishop/knight endgames with pawns on both sides and open positions, the bishop is usually better because it can attack on both sides of the board, and can often force zugzwang positions (because of the knight's limitations).  You missed this piece in your evaluation.

The knight can be better if you can prevent the bishop from becoming active.  You do this by putting your own pawns on the opposite color (so the bishop has no targets), which in turn often means his own pawns are on the same color as the bishop (which limits its mobility).  You got that part exactly right in your evaluation.  [note -- a blocked position is not an automatic advantage for the knight, especially if your pawns are blocked on the wrong colors!]

So the basic evaluation for this position is that the side with the bishop is better, and thus the side with the knight should be playing for a draw.  Luckily for you, you have the draw by repetition noted above as one possible variation.

I'd also note that the pawn endgame if white counterattacks (1...f6 2. f5) is won for black, so the draw seems to be the best choice for white.

Edit:  but per hpmobil's suggestion, coutnerattacking one move later looks winning for white:

or if black saves his knight:

In the last line 3... Kc6 gived better resistance. Not knowing if the starting position is a draw this should only hint to hidden possibilities. Shurely are more in this.

The starting position is better for the side with the bishop because there are pawns on both sides, black's pawns are on dark squares, and white's king is more actively placed.  

I agree 3...Kc6 puts up a better fight for black, but once white saves his bishop and pawn, he is still winning.

Also after Nc5+ Kd4 Nb3+ Kc3, black could try Kxb8 with a not losing endgame. If anyone is winning, it is black because of the weak f5 pawn. Although it is likely a draw.

1... f6 2. Bb8 Nc7 is also worth looking at.

I'm pretty sure that Doirse is correct - Black can't hold that endgame. For example:

I think 11. Ka6 is an unnecessary finesse. It reaches the same position after 11..Kc5 12. Kb7 b4 13. axb4+ Kxb4 14. Kc6 Kc4, but takes one move longer to get there.

I already posted a line where White wins after 11. Kb6. How do you think Black can hold the draw there?