Solving a SUPER-Difficult Puzzle! / Random Tips & Tricks - Episode 10

[@Shuey187]

I love your teaching style because you're quick at getting to the point - no beating around the bush, and you explain things simply and clearly in a manner that's easy to follow!

[@SudokuSwami]

Thank you. Your comment is greatly appreciated! Good luck.

[@SudokuGuy]

I enjoy your sudoku explanations and give you credit whenever possible.

[@SudokuSwami]

That's very kind of you, and greatly appreciated. I have stopped making Sudoku Videos. You left me in the dust...! :-)) Best wishes.

[@thorexu6017]

ALS, the most difficult section to be learnt and used in solving the sudoku. Advanced techniques, like XY-Wing, XYZ-Wing, WXYZ-Wing, VWXYZ-Wing, Sue de Coq, XY-Chians, Aligned Pair Exclusion all could be seen as part of ALS. I am wholly looking forward to seeing your advanced tutorial on ALS soon.

[@TonyT57]

ALS!!! I like them!!! Thank you Swami for this extremely challenging puzzle!

[@jasontodd7236]

Awesome! I was glad you stepped through a puzzle like that. Good to see the techniques in action. I need to look at ALS.

[@agazizov]

Really nice solution started from most complicated trick with ALS - thanks!

[@HATIA65]

Very nicely explained step by step..

[@troutstalking]

Sweet! Now to learn ALS.

[@ronnie9158]

I can't wait to learn new techniques from your channel. love your content & glad you're back :)

[@johndoe-ow2ns]

Wow that was crazy. This guy is very good!!!

[@fahadalanizi251]

You are a wonderful person .

[@akom2586]

Though complex for me these are the technique I have been looking for. Iwill look at them again and again. Thanks

[@an9431]

Hi , we are waiting Swami for you . Any way or suggestions around ALS . Thanks

[@prabhattomar4587]

Enjoy the video. I am coming across this type of situation in paper pencil solving. Needs more guidance on this line. Thank . Mr Swami.

[@grahamfisher307]

Name that tune! The Bourée from English Suite No. 2 in A Minor by J S Bach.

[@mirekt1822]

Hello Swami, it is unbeliveble to solve this puzzle for me. Thank you for showing how you do this. And I'm waiting for advanced series :-)

[@martindorrance8133]

Interesting - I see that I have some revision to do. I copy a sudoku into apple’s paint ( usually by a screenshot) and proceed with an Apple Pencil in the edit mode. It is still only a paper / pencil method so I will check out this area of your tutorials. Hope you are keeping well since we haven’t seen you lately 👍. Best wishes from the uk 🇬🇧

[@fydennis]

Once again stuck on AIC (typoed as ALS at first..,) even after I was given a vague hint of its existence. There seem to be so many possibilities on board that I don't know where to start the chain...ALS tutorial is very helpful! Looking forward to the full tutorial in your advanced series.

[@bachirfayomi]

Hello I like this video and i hope you keep put videos about solving hard sudoku like this until ends.

[@JohnVDenley]

8:12 how are you selecting those 3 candidates in 2 cells (r2c9 & r7c9) in column 9 as the ALS? how are you ignoring the 7 in row 1 and the 5 in row 6? Do you explain this better in another video? I've seen you do this kind of thing several times and I can't work out how to "see" the ALS (and eg hidden pairs and hidden triplets etc) when there are other candidates in the same house?!

[@SudokuSwami]

An ALS is an "Almost" Locked Set. This means you have one extra Candidate, without which it would be a Locked Set (i.e., Pair, Triple, Quad, etc.). In those two Cells, you have THREE Candidates. Without the 5 in R8C9, those two Cells would contain a Naked Pair of {7,2}. It makes no difference what lies in other Cells of that House (Column 9). We are only concerned about those Two Cells (R2C9 & R8C9).

[@SudokuSwami]

It is a Strong Link. If the 5 is False, the Naked Pair is True.

[@cherrimunoz4306]

As usual, I tried to solve the puzzle before listening to the explanation. It took 4 hours and three complete erasers to do it. LOL (Yes, I'm more of a pencil and paper person but do both) then I listened to the explanation. Wow! It was slick. I'm still learning the AICs and Discontinuous Loops so I didn't use those but with them, it appeared to be much easier. Thanks! This was a really fun day of Sudoku! I look forward to new and extremely difficult puzzles. Also, I played the puzzle while drinking coffee from my new Sudoku Swami mug !!!

[@SudokuSwami]

Very impressive that you could solve that puzzle without Candidates, no matter how long it took. Well done!

[@cherrimunoz4306]

@@SudokuSwami Oops. I did use candidates but I inputted them by hand. I played more than 12 years thinking that putting in candidates was cheating. My favorite is to sit back and find all the pretty patterns that Sudoku offers. No timer. Just a good hunt. That is how I played until 2 Christmas' ago when I was given a Level 9 book. At that point, I knew that I needed more than what I had discovered on my own. After searching, I found that the only teacher that understood how to explain methodical methods in a clear and precise manner was you, Jaco. I solved that puzzle as much as I could without candidates then I continued using the techniques explained in the early lessons plus XY wings, XYZ Wings, and a Sue de Coq. I also like studying the patterns offered by electronic means. It's interesting because it is a very different way of seeing a puzzle. And yes, when I work electronically, I always use a timer. I also use a dry erase board for finding the Coloring and Chain method.

[@mmcmillan1999]

Hope you are well sudoku swami. It’s been awhile since your last video. Hope to see more

[@ebenezerackah-wilson2246]

I want to be notified when there are new videos

[@garysamuel9521]

At 21:17 is there a Swordfish with columns 1, 3 and 5?

[@SudokuSwami]

On what candidate do you think you see a Swordfish?

[@garysamuel9521]

7

[@SudokuSwami]

No sir. At time 21:17. Looking at Columns 1, 3 & 5, the 7's occur in FOUR Rows....Rows 2, 4, 8 & 9. The Candidates in the Base Sets in a standard Swordfish must lie in only 3 Rows.

[@garysamuel9521]

Got it, clearly so. Thanks for your instruction. So many detailed videos you have produced. Glad to have found them. I’m doing by pencil & paper. And only when trying on one’s own can learning occur. Sincerely, much thanks for your tremendous efforts. Your videos have astonishing astounding quality. Gary

[@LeTtRrZ]

Good lord, this is genius. How long did it take to solve the puzzle on your first run?

[@SudokuSwami]

About 45 or 50 minutes (?), as I recall. Less than an hour.....

[@LeTtRrZ]

Sudoku Swami You have amazing skills. I could never dream of pulling off such a feat.

[@Ghost2T]

*_Tks Boss❤️ Very good topic selection, can apply almost all forms of sudoku._*

[@wenlzhang4808]

genius!! wondering how long one would take without additional study in advance... looks like a very hard one.

[@bunty00]

Sir, Which Sudoku software you have used..?

[@bunty00]

Anyone knows then please reply ..will appreciate a lot

[@SudokuSwami]

For info on software, please write to me at [e-mail]

[@brucewernick6542]

Hi Jaco. I've tried a few programs but have not found any with the flexibility of the one you use. What is the software you are using?

[@SudokuSwami]

For info on software, please write to me at [e-mail]

[@upcamehill2773]

I saw something about solving a hard puzzle using a "grouped x cycle" but do not understand it. Do you know of this?

[@SudokuSwami]

The term "X-Cycle" generally refers to a Continuous Loop that is constructed of multiple instances of the same Candidate. Like all 9's, for instance. You can make a Link (Weak or Strong) by using groups of Candidates as nodes. As long as you can say if one thing is True, then another thing (or group of things) is False, then the regular AIC logic will hold. I will be covering Group Nodes in my Advanced Series.

[@upcamehill2773]

@@SudokuSwami Thank you

[@iCYY]

@@SudokuSwami Can’t wait to see that coming.

[@adco]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 You are too smart for me!

[@TheofanisIII]

I don't know if you noticed, but instead of the Sashimi Swordfish you can actually just use the empty rectangle in block 9 to eliminate the same 7.

[@SudokuSwami]

There are always many ways to solve a Sudoku puzzle, as I mentioned at the very beginning of that Video. But if you are talking about the position at 20:00.......first, it is a Finned Swordfish, not Sashimi. And second, there is no available Empty Rectangle that I can see on Candidate 7 at that point. Where is the Conjugate Pair you are using with the ER formation in Block 9? What Cells?

[@TheofanisIII]

@@SudokuSwami Ah yes, Finned Swordfish, my mistake. I'm not an expert by any means so I don't know what kind of chain that is, but if you use the empty rectangle vertically it sees the 7 i r2c8. If you use it horizontally it removes all 7s in block 7 except for r7c3, which means the 7 in block 8 is r9c4, therefore in block 5 the 7 is in r4c5, and in block 4 the 7 is in cell r5c2, so you get a 7 in block 1 that's in row 2 which eliminates r2c8. And yes, you're right, you mentioned it at the start of the video, the only reason I wanted to mention it was because I thought that empty rectangles are easier to see than a Swordfish, which is funny since you were talking about how many people find Swordfish to be hard to find.

[@SudokuSwami]

Okay, what you say is True. But your reasoning is NOT how the "Empty Rectangle" Strategy works in the traditional sense. A Standard ER Pattern includes a Conjugate Pair, strategically placed, with one of the Candidates of the CP lying in either the Row or the Column of the ER, but outside the Block of the ER. Such a CP does not exist in that particular position. Using a Standard ER Pattern in conjunction with a CP, is a simple, two-step process, to possibly eliminate a Candidate. Your logical sequence of deductions requires many steps, although your conclusion is correct.

[@DillPicklePatrick]

Which software do you use to play sudoku?

[@SudokuSwami]

Please write to me at [e-mail] for info on software.

[@nsparvana]

Please suggest me a good sudoku app or rather please tell me the app you use for yourself.

[@SSheriff49]

MY HEAD IS SPINNING. I STOP GO BACK....THE WILL GO FORWARD

[@haiderkasem935]

Can we solve this puzzle using just paper and pencil

[@SudokuSwami]

Do you mean, is it possible? Yes. Give it a try, and let me know how it goes.

[@haiderkasem935]

@@SudokuSwami for me now i am in the first step to solve hard puzzles but like the one you did I think this beyond my ability but in the future I think I could cause your tutorials help me a lot but really I wish you can show us how to solve super hard sudoku just using proper and pencil

[@SudokuSwami]

This puzzle is best solved using full Candidate Lists. And as you can see, it is quite complicated. There is a limit to the difficulty level of a puzzle that can be solved by hand.

[@haiderkasem935]

@@SudokuSwami I wish you will start advance course soon you are great teacher thank you

[@SudokuSwami]

It's coming. Please be patient. Thank you.

[@adco]

Genius

[@Arrull0]

ALS :O Last technique I need to learn and add to my repertoire

[@SudokuSwami]

ALS killed Stephen Hawking.

[@kardi3107]

@@SudokuSwami That was very dark xDDDD

[@martentje61]

Good explanation! But I usually solve a sudoku on paper and make my own pencil marks. It is much more a challenge than what is shown here.

[@SudokuSwami]

Okay great. Please copy the Givens onto paper, without Candidates, and try to solve it your own way, and let me know how it goes. I would really be interested to know your results. Thanks.

[@thedoron2]

The ALS- A real beauty. will start looking for them. still have difficulties seeing the chains...

[@SudokuSwami]

Hello Doron, You cannot just "SEE" Chains, (unless you are a savant!). You have to SEARCH for them, and CONSTRUCT them. It takes perseverance and practice. I always say, the KEY to constructing AIC's, is the presence of a lot of Conjugate Pairs and Bi-Value Cells. These are the two tell-tale signs that a Chain may be available.

[@thedoron2]

Thanks, is there a software for the PC better than the HoDoKu that I am using? By "better" I meem that it will includ the option of drawing the links on the screen directly form the software. (I guess that you are using a drawing software on top of the Sudoku for your teaching?)

[@SudokuSwami]

No. Yes.

[@thedoron2]

thanks, thought so. (isnt it 5 am now?)

[@SudokuSwami]

Something like that.....

[@garysamuel9521]

Candidate 7