Hello, Ms. Kato. I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time. I always root for you in go tournaments. My question is this: there are quite a few opponents whom I can always beat when they take black against me with no komi, but when I give them two stones I never win. Do you have to change the way you play with white when you give a handicap? I would be grateful if you could tell me what is an effective strategy for White. Consultation One: Mr. Kumano Hello, Mr. Kumano. Thank you for your question. At first, I was very poor at playing white in handicap games. Since the opponent has more stones than you in the opening, you get into trouble if you fight in the usual way. These days I believe that it’s most effective to play in a slightly more leisurely fashion than in even games. I accept that naturally I will be behind until the middle game; if I play leisurely, at some stage I will naturally get a chance to make a game of it. In many handicap games, I win through taking more profit than the opponent in the endgame. If the chance you are waiting for doesn’t come, you just have to accept that your opponent is playing well. An alternative way for you to play is to let the other player just take black and to give him or her a reverse komi.