A month has passed since I learnt go. Since I’m still just a beginner, I guess I can’t complain about not being able to win, but even so go is getting boring when I lose all my games. How can I enjoy go over the long term? from Mr. Hagiwara Hello, Mr. Hagiwara. Thank you for your question. If you have been playing just a month, you are still very fresh to the game. Since the rules are so difficult, I think it would take most people longer than this before they reached the stage of actually being able to play. It’s quite impressive that you’ve already reached the stage at which you are unhappy about losing. This is just a guess, but perhaps you are playing only with people who are obviously stronger than you. There’s no way you can beat someone who is stronger, so you should take a big handicap. Also, you should seek out opponents who are weaker than you. This may sound sneaky, but it’s the best way of relieving your stress. (Maybe I shouldn’t write this . . .) Just for reference, in my case, when I’m in bad form and can’t win, I stop playing and do something else. Life-and-death problems, for example, or reading go books. Watching other people play is also fun. Everyone can enjoy go a different way. We professionals are happy when people enjoy go in the way best suited to them. I hope we both continue to enjoy go.