I analyzed the board and considered both immediate threats and future opportunities. Placing an O in column 4 will drop the piece into row 4 (since row 5 is occupied by X), where it will join my existing O’s at (4,2) and (4,3), forming three in a row horizontally. This move not only takes a central position—which is critical in Connect Four—but also sets up potential diagonal and horizontal threats on future moves, without letting the opponent gain any immediate advantage. For these reasons, column 4 is my best move.