EXTREMEPUZZLE BOOKS

Extreme Sudoku 3, puzzle 60: 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 60 of 150 in Extreme Sudoku 3
Difficulty
Expert 6 (expert and beyond), from the middle third of the book
Key technique
ALS-XZ
Hard steps
29 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: Nice Loops/AICs (×4), XY-Chain (×4), 2-String Kite (×3), Sue de Coq (×3), XY-Wing (×3), X-Wing/Swordfish (×2), Finned Fish, W-Wing, WXYZ-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 (24 of 29)
  1. Step 6 · 2-String Kite advanced
    Rules out 1 from R6C1.
  2. Step 7 · Sue de Coq expert
    Rules out 8 from R3C3; 2 from R5C2, R6C2, R8C2; 3 from R8C2.
  3. Step 11 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 6 from R9C8.
  4. Step 12 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 3 from R9C8.
  5. Step 13 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 5 from R8C4, R8C6.
  6. Step 14 · 2-String Kite advanced
    Rules out 5 from R7C7.
  7. Step 15 · Nice Loops/AICs expert
    Rules out 8 from R2C4.
  8. Step 16 · Finned Fish expert
    Rules out 8 from R8C2.
  9. Step 17 · Sue de Coq expert
    Rules out 8 from R7C7, R8C4, R8C6.
  10. Step 20 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 4 from R1C2, R6C3.
  11. Step 23 · W-Wing advanced
    Rules out 9 from R3C2.
  12. Step 24 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 6 from R8C9.
  13. Step 25 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 2 from R6C7.
  14. Step 26 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 3 from R7C6.
  15. Step 27 · Nice Loops/AICs expert
    Rules out 3 from R9C3.
  16. Step 28 · Nice Loops/AICs expert
    Rules out 2 from R4C1.
  17. Step 29 · Nice Loops/AICs expert
    Rules out 3 from R7C1.
  18. Step 30 · WXYZ-Wing expert
    Rules out 9 from R7C6.
  19. Step 31 · XY-Wing advanced
    Rules out 5 from R7C3.
  20. Step 33 · Sue de Coq expert
    Rules out 2 from R6C3; 8 from R9C1.
  21. Step 34 · ALS-XZ expert
    Rules out 2 from R6C1.
  22. Step 36 · XY-Wing advanced
    Rules out 9 from R6C7.
  23. Step 37 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 9 from R5C1.
  24. Step 38 · XY-Chain expert
    Rules out 9 from R5C7.

The book

Volume three: 150 new classic 9×9 grids, none repeated from books 1 or 2, 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.

On Amazon from 8 Dec About the book

Try a free sample puzzle (PDF) · prints on A4 or US Letter

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