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SUDOKU SOLVING TECHNIQUES
(6 PART MINI COURSE) PART 4
Author: Neel Mehta
Neel is an accomplished
software engineer and
holds a Masters degree in
Economics and Statistics
from the University of
Toronto. Ever since the
puzzles started appearing
in newspapers, he has
been hopelessly addicted
to Sudokus.
Part 4 A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates
This is Part 4 of the series. This is once again a walkthrough of an
end to end puzzle. However this time, I use candidates to solve the
puzzle.
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 1
This is Part 4 of a 6 part series on Sudoku Solving. In this part, we take a medium difficulty puzzle and solve it
from end to end using candidates. The candidates are refreshed from grid to grid as you traverse the pages. The
following techniques are used to solve the puzzle.
Techniques:
Elimination (Box) = 30
Elimination (Column) = 4
Naked Singles = 20
Naked Pairs = 2
XY Wing = 1
To learn more Sudoku tips, tricks and techniques Sudokuvideotutorials.com
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 1
We Start with this puzzle of medium difficulty The candidate 2 appears only once in Box 1. Therefore cell 13
must be a 2. Technique: Elimination
The candidate 3 appears only once in Box 1. Therefore cell 21 The candidate 7 appears only once in Box 1. Therefore cell 22
must be a 3. Technique: Elimination must be a 7. Technique: Elimination
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 2
The candidate 6 appears only once in Box 1. Therefore cell 32 The cell 12 must be a 9, because 9 is a naked single. 9 is the only
must be a 6. Technique: Elimination candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice)
The candidate 3 appears only once in Box 5. Therefore cell 54 The candidate 9 appears only once in Box 3. Therefore cell 39
must be a 3. Technique: Elimination must be a 9. Technique: Elimination
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 3
The candidate 3 appears only once in Box 3. Therefore cell 19 The candidate 3 appears only once in Box 2. Therefore cell 35
must be a 3. Technique: Elimination must be a 3. Technique: Elimination
The candidate 2 appears only once in Box 2. Therefore cell 36 The candidate 2 appears only once in Box 5. Therefore cell 44
must be a 2. Technique: Elimination must be a 2. Technique: Elimination
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 4
The candidate 6 appears only once in Column 9. Therefore cell 22 The candidate 4 appears only once in Column 9. Therefore cell 89
must be a 6. Technique: Elimination must be a 4. Technique: Elimination
The cell 49 must be a 5, because 5 is a naked single. 5 is the only The candidate 4 appears only once in Column 2. Therefore cell 72
candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice) must be a 4. Technique: Elimination
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 5
The candidate 5 appears only once in Column 7. Therefore cell 27 The candidate 4 appears only once in Box 3. Therefore cell 29
must be a 5. Technique: Elimination must be a 4. Technique: Elimination
(1,8} and {1,8) in box 3 also form a naked pair. So based on naked
pairs also, you can elminate 4 from cell 29.
The candidate 4 appears only once in Column 7. Therefore cell 56 The candidate 4 appears only once in Box 4. Therefore cell 63
must be a 4. Technique: Elimination must be a 4. Technique: Elimination
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 6
The candidate 8 appears only once in Box 4. Therefore cell 22 The cell 82 must be a 1, because 1 is a naked single. 1 is the only
must be a 8. Technique: Elimination candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice)
The candidate 7 appears only once in Box 6. Therefore cell 46 The cell 68 must be a 1, because 1 is a naked single. 1 is the only
must be a 7. Technique: Elimination candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice)
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 7
The candidate 1 appears only once in Box 4. Therefore cell 11 The cell 46 must be a 9, because 9 is a naked single. 9 is the only
must be a 1. Technique: Elimination candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice)
The cell 53 must be a 7, because 7 is a naked single. 7 is the only The cell 66 must be a 1, because 1 is a naked single. 1 is the only
candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice) candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice)
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 8
The cell 61 must be a 9, because 9 is a naked single. 9 is the only The candidate 7 appears only once in Box 7. Therefore cell 91
candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice) must be a 7. Technique: Elimination
The cell 61 must be a 2, because2 is a naked single. 2 is the only The candidate 9 appears only once in Column 3. Therefore cell 83
candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice) must be a 9. Technique: Elimination
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 9
The cell 63 must be a 8, because 8 is a naked single. 8 is the only The candidate 7 appears only once in Box 8. Therefore cell 86
candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice) must be a 7. Technique: Elimination
The candidate 1 appears only once in Box 3. Therefore cell 36 The cell 96 must be a 8, because 8 is a naked single. 8 is the only
must be a 1. Technique: Elimination candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice)
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 10
The cell 38 must be a 8, because 8 is a naked single. 8 is the only The candidates {5,8} and {5,8} form a naked pair in Column 4.
candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice) Based on the Naked Pairs rule, we can eliminate 5 and 8 from all
cells in Column 4 other than the yellow cells. So we can eliminate
the candidate 5 from Cell 14 and candidate 8 from Cell 24.
The candidates {1,5} and {1,5} form a naked pair in Column 5. Based on the XY Wing rule X=1, Y=6 and Z=4. Based on this
Based on the Naked Pairs rule, we can eliminate 1 and 5 from all arrangement of XY, YZ and XZ, we can eliminate the candidate Z
cells in Column 5 other than the yellow cells. So we can eliminate from Cell 16. Cell 16 cannot contain Z (which is a 4). So remove 4
the candidate 5 from Cell 85. Technique: Naked Pairs from Cell 16.
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 11
The candidate 4 appears only once in Box 2. Therefore cell 14 The candidate 1 appears only once in Box 2. Therefore cell 15
must be a 4. Technique: Elimination must be a 1. Technique: Elimination
The cell 16 must be a 5, because 5 is a naked single. 5 is the only The candidate 5 appears only once in Box 5. Therefore cell 64
candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice) must be a 4. Technique: Elimination
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 12
The cell 66 must be a 8, because 8 is a naked single. 8 is the only The candidate 8 appears only once in Box 2. Therefore cell 55
candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice) must be a 8. Technique: Elimination
The candidate 9 appears only once in Box 2. Therefore cell 24 The cell 26 must be a 6, because 6 is a naked single. 6 is the only
must be a 9. Technique: Elimination candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice)
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 13
The cell 96 must be a 4, because 4 is a naked single. 4 is the only The candidate 1 appears only once in Box 8. Therefore cell 64
candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice) must be a 1. Technique: Elimination
The cell 75 must be a 5, because 5 is a naked single. 5 is the only The cell 78 must be a 6, because 6 is a naked single. 6 is the only
candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice) candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice)
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 14
The cell 94 must be a 6, because 6 is a naked single. 6 is the only The cell 84 must be an 8, because 8 is a naked single. 8 is the only
candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice) candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice)
The candidate 9 appears only once in Box 8. Therefore cell 95 The cell 85 must be a 2, because 2 is a naked single. 2 is the only
must be a 9. Technique: Elimination candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice)
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 15
The cell 88 must be a 5, because 5 is a naked single. 5 is the only The cell 98 must be a 2, because 2 is a naked single. 2 is the only
candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice) candidate in that cell. Technique: Naked Single (Single Choice)
The puzzle is solved.
To learn more Sudoku tips, tricks and techniques visit: Sudokuvideotutorials.com
A Walkthrough of Sudoku Solving using Candidates Page 16