I am a beginner who has been playing go for a little under a year. I’ve finally reached 11-kyu. Recently I am sometimes challenged to handicap games by weaker players, but when I’m giving a handicap of two or three stones, I am tempted to go for territory and I play unreasonable moves and end up self-destructing. Can you tell me what is the right attitude with which to approach handicap games? Consultation One: Mr. Nakayama Hello, Mr. Nakayama. Thank you for your question. The right attitude for handicap games? I am often faced with this question myself, and I think it’s important to play in a leisurely way, without doing anything unreasonable. In the opening, there are not many stones on the board, so White comes under a lot of pressure if a fight starts. Wouldn’t you agree that White has a better chance when the balance of forces is 48 versus 50 rather than 8 versus 10? I think it’s enough just to make it your target to play to the end of the game without collapsing. At some point, you are bound to get a chance to make a game of it.