EXTREMEPUZZLE BOOKS

Extreme Sudoku 2, puzzle 100: 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 100 of 150 in Extreme Sudoku 2
Difficulty
Expert 5 (expert and beyond), from the middle third of the book
Key technique
XY-Chain
Hard steps
17 of 43 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: XY-Chain

A chain of two-candidate cells, each linked to the next. Whichever way the start cell goes, one end of the chain holds the digit, so cells seeing both ends cannot.

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

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 (17)
  1. Step 7 · Skyscraper advanced
    Rules out 3 from R6C8.
  2. Step 8 · WXYZ-Wing expert
    Rules out 8 from R2C7.
  3. Step 9 · Nice Loops/AICs expert
    Rules out 2 from R8C4.
  4. Step 10 · Nice Loops/AICs expert
    Rules out 8 from R2C2.
  5. Step 11 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 2 from R6C5.
  6. Step 14 · Cell Forcing Chains expert
    Rules out 3 from R2C6.
  7. Step 17 · WXYZ-Wing expert
    Rules out 6 from R7C8.
  8. Step 19 · WXYZ-Wing expert
    Rules out 3 from R5C8.
  9. Step 21 · W-Wing advanced
    Rules out 1 from R9C5.
  10. Step 23 · 2-String Kite advanced
    Rules out 6 from R6C5.
  11. Step 25 · XY-Wing advanced
    Rules out 6 from R8C6.
  12. Step 26 · W-Wing advanced
    Rules out 1 from R4C9, R8C6.
  13. Step 30 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 8 from R3C3, R9C2.
  14. Step 32 · XY-Wing advanced
    Rules out 1 from R8C2.
  15. Step 33 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 8 from R3C2.
  16. Step 36 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 4 from R9C2.
  17. Step 39 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 4 from R3C3, R8C2.

The book

Volume two: 150 new classic 9×9 grids, none repeated from book 1, ramping from hard to brutal.

150 new 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 Sudoku 1 · Extreme Killer Sudoku 1 · Extreme Killer Sudoku 2 · Extreme Sudoku 3 · Extreme Killer Sudoku 3.