Full Analytical Solution for Difficult KS on Friday 2/17/17
Here's the Full Analytical Solution for the Difficult Killer Sudoku on 2/17/17.
The starting puzzle:
1) F8-9 = [1,2]2) Using known values for columns H-I, H1+H7+H9 = 22. All must be 5+ and one must be 9.
3) The six-cell 23 cage at F6 is very telling. It must have 1-4 and cannot have a 9. 1-2 are blocked for F6-7 (from step 1) and H7 (from step 2).
4) With a 1-2 somewhere in G6-8, that blocks H9 from being 9, which means that
H1 = 9.
5) G1-2 must be [6,7] because [5,8] would block all answers for the 14 cage at G4.
6) All cells in the 28 cage at F2 must be 4+, so
G3 = [4,8].
7) Using known values for the G1-I3 block, H4 must be the same value as G3.
8) If both G3 and H4 are 4, then it would force G6 to be 8, which means that either H4 or G6 is 8.
9) With 8s and 9s blocked in the G4-I6 block, the 10 cage at
I4-5 must contain a 6 or a 7 and
I6 must also be [6,7].
10) With 6s and 7s blocked in column G and I,
H7,9 must be [6,7]. After clearing up a bit, we have:
It's honestly fairly easy from here on out.
11) With
[1,2,3] in G6-8,
F6-7 must be [4,7].
12) Using known values for the D7-F9 block, F7+D8 = 11, so
D8 must also be [4,7].
13) D-E9 must be [3,9] because everything else is blocked by G-H9.
14) E8 must be 6, and
D-E7 must be [5,8]. After some basic clearing, you have:
15) Using known values for the A7-C9 block, B6+D8 = 12, but B6 can't be a 5, so
B6 = 8 and
D8 = 4.
16) That means that
A7 must be 4, and after yet more clearing, we get:
17) Using known values for the D4-F6 block, D6+F4 = 15, but 8s are blocked for both, so
D6 = 9 and
F4 = 6.
18) B4-5 must be [1,6] because 2s and 3s are blocked.
19) A5-6 must be [3,9] because everything else is blocked by A7-8.
20) C5-6 must be [5,7],
C3-4 must be [3,4],
F2-3 must be [5,9], etc. etc. It's all easy from here.