
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
A strip of cells $1 \times N$ is given. Two players play the following game. On their turn, the first player places an "X" in one of the free cells, and the second player places an "O". It is not allowed to place two "X"s or two "O"s in adjacent cells. The player who cannot make a move loses.

Which player can always win, regardless of the opponent's moves?

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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