EXTREMEPUZZLE BOOKS

Extreme Sudoku 1, puzzle 63: step-by-step solution

Step through the whole solution, or skip to the hard parts. Blue digits are placed by the walkthrough; red strike-through marks a candidate being ruled out.

Puzzle
Sudoku, number 63 of 150 in Extreme Sudoku 1
Difficulty
Expert 5 (expert and beyond), from the middle third of the book
Key technique
ALS-XZ
Hard steps
23 of 51 steps need an advanced or expert technique

Blue digits are placed by the walkthrough. Red strike-through marks a candidate being ruled out. Cells are named by row and column: R3C5 is row 3, column 5. Arrow keys step too.

The key technique: ALS-XZ

Two almost-locked sets (n cells with n+1 candidates) share a restricted digit X. Then a digit Z common to both must be in one of them, so cells seeing all of its copies cannot be Z.

Other advanced and expert techniques in this solve: XY-Chain (×5), Nice Loops/AICs (×3), 2-String Kite (×2), Empty Rectangle (×2), Cell Forcing Chains, W-Wing, WXYZ-Wing, XY-Wing.

Every move above the basics is listed on the sudoku techniques page, each with a one-sentence explanation and worked examples from the books.

The hard steps, in text (23)
  1. Step 7 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 1 from R8C1, R8C3.
  2. Step 9 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 3 from R6C2.
  3. Step 10 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 1 from R6C5, R8C4.
  4. Step 15 · 2-String Kite advanced
    Rules out 9 from R1C1.
  5. Step 16 · XY-Wing advanced
    Rules out 9 from R6C6, R9C5.
  6. Step 19 · Empty Rectangle advanced
    Rules out 9 from R1C5.
  7. Step 20 · Empty Rectangle advanced
    Rules out 9 from R2C1.
  8. Step 21 · WXYZ-Wing expert
    Rules out 8 from R9C3.
  9. Step 23 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 2 from R2C3.
  10. Step 24 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 8 from R5C2, R6C2.
  11. Step 26 · Nice Loops/AICs expert
    Rules out 2 from R3C3.
  12. Step 27 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 8 from R8C3.
  13. Step 28 · Nice Loops/AICs expert
    Rules out 6 from R4C8.
  14. Step 29 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 3 from R4C4.
  15. Step 31 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 2 from R3C1.
  16. Step 32 · Nice Loops/AICs expert
    Rules out 3 from R2C4.
  17. Step 33 · Cell Forcing Chains expert
    Rules out 3 from R1C6.
  18. Step 39 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 6 from R1C3.
  19. Step 40 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 2 from R1C1.
  20. Step 41 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 7 from R1C3, R3C3.
  21. Step 42 · W-Wing advanced
    Rules out 9 from R3C8.
  22. Step 44 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 6 from R2C3, R8C1.
  23. Step 46 · 2-String Kite advanced
    Rules out 7 from R1C1.

The book

Classic 9×9 sudoku with the warm-up taken out. Every grid sits at the top of the expert range or beyond it, and the book ramps from hard to brutal.

150 puzzles. Expert and beyond. Puzzles by M. J. Bailey. Paperback, 5 × 8 in, 196 pages, £9.99 / $11.99. Every solution in the book carries a QR code to its own walkthrough, so you can check one step without seeing the whole answer.

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More step-by-step solutions: Extreme Killer Sudoku 1 · Extreme Sudoku 2 · Extreme Killer Sudoku 2 · Extreme Sudoku 3 · Extreme Killer Sudoku 3.