I analyzed the board and identified a potential threat: if I don’t block, my opponent could drop an X in column 4 to build a vertical stack (with the X’s already in row5 and row4), potentially winning in two moves. By playing in column 4 now, I fill the available space (row3) in that column, stopping their vertical threat while maintaining my own chances for future connect‐4 opportunities. Therefore, I choose column 4.