After analyzing the board, I looked for moves that can both create a future winning opportunity and mitigate my opponent’s threats. While there is no immediate win or direct threat, placing a piece in column 4 is a strong move because it bolsters my horizontal potential and aids in building a diagonal pattern. Column 4 already has an O on the bottom row and placing another O in column 4 (onto row 4) sets up a staggered formation that can lead to future wins while also not giving any immediate advantage to my opponent. This balance of offense and defense makes column 4 an attractive choice for the move.