FLUKE WARNING (see comments) Sudoku solution - Los Angeles Times 28 December 2024 Expert level

[@johnmiller5629]

Wow, I think I might have even outdone Georges on this one. You had the puzzle solved at the 7:48 mark when you placed the 6 at R6C3. The key was in Block 6 where the 4 was confined to Row 4. With that, R6C9 can only be 3 or 7. That gives you a 37 pair in Row 6 because you already have a 37 pair in Block 5. That allows placement of the 8 at R6C8. It was very easy from there. BTW, this would have given you the 8 at R8C3.

[@georgesthibaudeau1533]

Maybe I missed something, but I was unable to understand the basis on which you placed an 8 in r8c3 at the time you did it, where it appeared to fit just as well in r9c3 (with the 8 still looking available possibly in r8c8 at the time). In any event, there was a it of a challenge to this puzzle. I struggled with a few things such as disambiguating the 14 pair in the upper row. Ended up doing it notation free, but not without a headache.

[@zen_art_of_guardian_sudoku]

I was trying to mark 8 in r8 & 9 in c3 but my finger must have slipped off the mouse and it registered an 8 there by mistake. Thanks for the heads up, Georges.