5 stones on the 1st through 4th star points and the center point

6 stones on the 1st through 6th star points

7 stones on the 1st through 6th star points and the center point

8 stones on the 1st through 8th star points

9 stones on the 1st through 9th star points

Unless otherwise specified, handicap stones shall be placed in this fashion. Handicaps greater than nine stones and handicaps on boards with fewer than 19 lines are not standardized.}

If the players have agreed to use area counting to score the game (Rule 12), White receives an additional point of compensation for each Black handicap stone after the first. (Black would otherwise gain an additional point of area for each handicap stone.)

5) Capture: Stones of the same color are said to be connected if they are adjacent along horizontal or vertical-not diagonal-lines on the board. A string of connected stones consists of those stones which can be reached from a given stone by moving only to adjacent stones of the same color. A string of connected stones is surrounded by stones of the opposite color if it has no empty points horizontally or vertically-not diagonally-adjacent to any of its member stones. (Such adjacent empty points are known as liberties of the string.)

After a player moves, any stone or string of stones belonging to the opponent which is completely surrounded by the player's own stones is captured, and removed from the board. Such stones become prisoners of the capturing player. It is illegal for a player to move so as to create a string of his or her own stones which is completely surrounded (without liberties) after any surrounded opposing stones are captured.

{This means that it is possible to fill an empty space within an opponent's group and capture even if the player's own stone or stones would momentarily be surrounded by the group being captured. See Figure 2. But self-capture is illegal.