Hello, Ms. Osawa. Something that I always regret in handicap games is that I can' t help feeling that the opponent' s moves have authority and I end up answering them submissively. Before I realize it, the game has turned bad for me. Is there any other way of overcoming this timidity besides playing a lot of games? Consultation One : Mr. Takano Hello, Mr. Takano. Thank you for your question. I think that this may be the most common losing patternin handicap go. The awareness that your opponent is stronger than you makes him seem bigger and you shrink accordingly. I think feelings play an important role, so the answer is not to think too much about the opponent. You should try to play the move in each position that you think is best. The other thing is not to avoid the troublesome chore of reading. It's easy to think it' s safe to tenuki (switch elsewhere), but it' s important to get into the habit of carefully reading out a position. When you can' t read out the position but your intuition tells you than you can tenuki , then it' s probably OK to do so. This requires courage, but you can' t improve if you always compromise and follow the opponent around. How about trying various adventures to break out of your shell?