I need to block my opponent's immediate win threat. Looking at the board, my opponent has 'O' symbols at positions (0,0) and (2,0), forming two in a column on the left side. If I don't block position (1,0), they will place their next 'O' there and win the game. After blocking this threat, I can work toward creating my own winning opportunities in subsequent moves. While I could try to advance my own position along the diagonal or middle row, defensive play takes priority here to prevent an immediate loss.