#1 · fhourplay
9 Nov 2015
Winning first-move replies are
1 4
2 3
3 4
4 4
Only the 2 opening move requires a different reply, as 2 4 hands the win to the 1st player.
The main opening lines have the first player switch to column 3 or 5 after playing the first 2, 4, or 6 ply in column 4,
at which point the 2nd player can play on either side to block the threat.
4 4 4 4 4 5 is also a 2nd player win, but 4 4 5 and 4 5 are 1st player wins.
The solver used, together with an extensive opening book, is available at https://github.com/tromp/fhourstones88