There's only one king, but both sides have 15 additional pieces. One extra pawn is often enough to win, and in the majority of games between competent players one side resigns long before an actual checkmate is on the horizon.
If you want to exchange off the pieces and make a draw, you can.
If you're only interested in playing surprising/paradoxical/beautiful moves, so be it.
In go, regardless of the handicap, or whether you want to win by more or lose by less, the objective is still to surround more space than your opponent.
There's only one king, but both sides have 15 additional pieces. One extra pawn is often enough to win, and in the majority of games between competent players one side resigns long before an actual checkmate is on the horizon.
If you want to exchange off the pieces and make a draw, you can. If you're only interested in playing surprising/paradoxical/beautiful moves, so be it.
In go, regardless of the handicap, or whether you want to win by more or lose by less, the objective is still to surround more space than your opponent.