EXTREMEPUZZLE BOOKS

Extreme Sudoku 2, puzzle 75: 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 75 of 150 in Extreme Sudoku 2
Difficulty
Expert 7 (expert and beyond), from the middle third of the book
Key technique
Finned Fish
Hard steps
12 of 32 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: Finned Fish

An X-Wing or Swordfish with one extra candidate (the fin). Cells that are in the fish pattern and also see the fin lose the digit.

Other advanced and expert techniques in this solve: XY-Chain (×2), ALS-XZ, Cell Forcing Chains, Nice Loops/AICs, Sue de Coq, WXYZ-Wing, X-Wing/Swordfish, 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 (12)
  1. Step 7 · Finned Fish expert
    Rules out 1 from R6C8.
  2. Step 9 · Finned Fish expert
    Rules out 3 from R1C3, R3C3.
  3. Step 10 · Sue de Coq expert
    Rules out 8 from R7C1; 9 from R7C1; 3 from R8C7.
  4. Step 11 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 9 from R6C2.
  5. Step 12 · Nice Loops/AICs expert
    Rules out 3 from R1C1.
  6. Step 13 · WXYZ-Wing expert
    Rules out 9 from R3C3.
  7. Step 14 · Cell Forcing Chains expert
    Rules out 8 from R1C5.
  8. Step 17 · XY-Wing advanced
    Rules out 7 from R1C7.
  9. Step 18 · Finned Fish expert
    Rules out 3 from R2C3.
  10. Step 19 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 3 from R8C2.
  11. Step 23 · X-Wing/Swordfish advanced
    Rules out 3 from R4C7, R4C8.
  12. Step 24 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 1 from R1C1, R2C7, R2C8.

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.