WITH ranked AS (
SELECT
first_name,
ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY first_name ASC) AS rn
FROM employees
)
SELECT e.first_name AS first
FROM employees e
LEFT JOIN ranked r
ON e.first_name = r.first_name
WHERE r.rn % 2 = 1;

WITH ranked AS (
SELECT
first_name,
ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY first_name ASC) AS rn
FROM employees
)
SELECT e.first_name AS first
FROM employees e
LEFT JOIN ranked r
ON e.first_name = r.first_name
WHERE r.rn % 2 = 1;