In most clubs, differences in skill level between most players is great enough to necessitate the use of handicaps. The usual method of handicap involves placing black stones on the board before white's move.

A consistent national ranking system enables players from different clubs to know the number of handicap stones needed right away. Organizing tournaments would be much more difficult without a national ranking system. For example, Kylmä Kivi was a handicap tournament with six participants and only four rounds. The range of skill level was from 3 dan to 20 kyu. Without handicaps, pairing a 3 dan playing against a 20 kyu would be like pitting someone with a mid-level black belt in karate against a beginner. The beginner would be knocked out in seconds. The likelihood of the weaker player winning a game like that would be astronomically small. In a tournament, such a game would be a completely wasted opportunity to gain information about the current order of strength of the players. Even with a full nine stone handicap, a 20 kyu would stand virtually no chance against a 3 dan.