[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-571720-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":85,"doc-detail-571720-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":78,"head_meta":80,"extra_data":82,"updated_unix":84},105,"en","how-to-solve-sudoku-direct-solves-and-deductive-techniques","How-to-Solve Sudoku - Direct Solves and Deductive Techniques","","Sudoku solving tips explain how to complete a 9x9 grid by ensuring each row, column, and 3x3 block contains the numbers 1 through 9 exactly once. It introduces a direct elimination workflow using given clues, then shows how to proceed when direct solves stop by reviewing candidates and tracking relationships for eliminations. The text further outlines advanced deductive methods, including locked candidate, naked pair, and naked triplet, emphasizing how deductions can create the next solvable steps.",{"@graph":14,"@context":77},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/general/","General",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/how-to-solve-sudoku-direct-solves-and-deductive-techniques/571720/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/how-to-solve-sudoku-direct-solves-and-deductive-techniques/571720.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":42,"@type":43},"\tJames","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-23","2026-10-13",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",9,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69,73],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What is the basic rule for solving a regular Sudoku puzzle?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Each row, each column, and each 3x3 block must contain every number from 1 through 9 exactly once, so no number can repeat within any row, column, or block.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What are “Direct Solves,” and when do they stop working?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Direct Solves come from straightforward elimination using the already placed clues. They work for easy puzzles, but for harder puzzles there may be a point where no direct eliminations are available.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How do deductions help when direct solves are no longer possible?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"You review possible candidates for each cell and look for relationships among cells to eliminate candidates. This process reveals the next solvable cell and often results in Indirect Solves.",{"name":74,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":75},"What are the locked candidate, naked pair, and naked triplet techniques?",{"text":76,"@type":64},"Locked candidate restricts a value to the overlap of a block with a specific row or column, allowing elimination elsewhere. Naked pair and naked triplet occur when two or three cells contain exactly the same two or three candidates, so those candidates can be removed from other cells in the same row, column, or block.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":79,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":81,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":83,"site_id":7},571720,1792117970,{"code":4,"msg":86,"data":87},"success",[88,93,98,103,108,113,118,123,128],{"id":89,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":90,"show_sort_weight":91,"slug":92},11,"Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":94,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":95,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":97},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":99,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":104,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":109,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":114,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":119,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":124,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":129,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":130},158,"general-158",{"code":4,"msg":86,"data":132},{"doc_id":83,"user_id":133,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":22,"category_id":129,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":145,"read_time":26},2336474466412,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","|  |  |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| SUDOKU SOLVING TIPS\u003Cbr>Terms you will need to know\u003Cbr>Block: One of the nine 3x3 sections that make up the Sudoku grid. Candidate(s): The possible numbers that could be in a cell.\u003Cbr>Cell: A single square in a Sudoku grid. |  |  |  |\n| GETTING STARTED\u003Cbr>To solve a regular Sudoku puzzle, place a number into each cell of the diagram so that each row across, each column down, and each block within the larger diagram (there are 9 of these) will contain every number from 1 through 9. In other words, no number may appear more than once in any row, column, or block. Working with the seeds already given as a guide, complete each puzzle with the missing numbers that will lead to the correct solution.\u003Cbr>For example, look at the ninth column of the example puzzle to the right. There are clues in the puzzle that will tell you where, in this column, the number 3 belongs.\u003Cbr>The first clue lies in the eighth column of the diagram. There is a 3 in the fifth cell. Since numbers can't be repeated in any 3 x 3 block, we can't put a 3 in the fourth, fifth, or sixth cells of the ninth column.\u003Cbr>We can also eliminate the bottom three cells of the ninth column because there's a 3 in that 3 x 3 block as well. Therefore, the 3 must go in the second or third cell of the ninth column.\u003Cbr>The final clue lies in the second row of the diagram, which already has a 3 in it. Since numbers can't be repeated within a row, there's only one cell left for the 3—the third cell of the ninth column.\u003Cbr>The basic elimination process used in the example above results in a Direct Solve. The best way to work through a Sudoku puzzle is to tackle the Direct Solves first, since they are the easiest. In fact, all easy-level puzzles can be completed using only Direct Solves.\u003Cbr>With more difficult Sudoku puzzles, you will reach a point at which Direct Solves no longer exist. At this stage, you need to review the possible candidates for each cell, and then start looking at the relationships among cells to see what candidates you can eliminate. This will eventually reveal the next solvable cell. |  |  | 7 9 1 2 3 8 6 7 6 2 7 7 8 5 5 2 6 3 1 9 5 6 3 8 8 4 9 2 1 2 1 3\u003Cbr>8 4 7 9 6 3 5 2 1 1 2 3 8 4 5 6 7 9 5 9 6 1 2 7 4 8 3 9 7 8 3 5 4 1 6 2 4 5 1 2 9 6 7 3 8 6 3 2 7 1 8 9 5 4 7 1 9 6 3 2 8 4 5 3 8 4 5 7 9 2 1 6 2 6 5 4 8 1 3 9 7 |\n| Finding the candidates to eliminate is where advanced solving techniques—called Deductions—come in. There are 8 different deductive techniques that SudokuSolver will point out for you when they are available. Below is a description of each, in order of their complexity. Please note that applying deductions will often result in Indirect Solves. Indirect Solves are similar to Direct Solves, except that some of the candidates will have been eliminated via deductions, rather than directly from the solved cells. |  |  |  |\n\n[PennyDellPuzzles.com](PennyDellPuzzles.com) Copyright © 2008 Penny Publications, LLC  \n\n|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |\n| LOCKED CANDIDATE\u003Cbr>In a locked candidate, a value must appear at the intersection of a particular block and row or column, and can therefore be removed as a candidate from the rest of that block and row or column. In the example at right, we've filled in the candidates for each cell, and the 6 in Row A can only be in Block 2 (in other words, none of the cells in Row A in either Block 1 or Block 3 have 6 asa candidate) . Therefore, 6 can be eliminated as a candidate from all other cells in Block 2—that is, the 6 can be eliminated from B5 .\u003Cbr>NAKED PAIR\u003Cbr>In a naked pair, two cells in a row, column, or block each contain the same two candidates, and only those candidates. If a naked pair appears in a row, column, or block, those two candidates can be eliminated from every other cell in that row, column, or block. In the example at right, we've filled in the candidates for each cell, and the only possible candida","cbCaidX2XwbXaN6G","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaidX2XwbXaN6G","pdf",87526,6,"English","# Getting Started\n## Direct Solve strategy\n## Transition to candidate-based deductions\n# Advanced Deductive Techniques\n## Locked Candidate\n## Naked Pair\n## Naked Triplet","[{\"question\":\"What is the basic rule for solving a regular Sudoku puzzle?\",\"answer\":\"Each row, each column, and each 3x3 block must contain every number from 1 through 9 exactly once, so no number can repeat within any row, column, or block.\"},{\"question\":\"What are “Direct Solves,” and when do they stop working?\",\"answer\":\"Direct Solves come from straightforward elimination using the already placed clues. They work for easy puzzles, but for harder puzzles there may be a point where no direct eliminations are available.\"},{\"question\":\"How do deductions help when direct solves are no longer possible?\",\"answer\":\"You review possible candidates for each cell and look for relationships among cells to eliminate candidates. This process reveals the next solvable cell and often results in Indirect Solves.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the locked candidate, naked pair, and naked triplet techniques?\",\"answer\":\"Locked candidate restricts a value to the overlap of a block with a specific row or column, allowing elimination elsewhere. Naked pair and naked triplet occur when two or three cells contain exactly the same two or three candidates, so those candidates can be removed from other cells in the same row, column, or block.\"}]","How-to-Solve Sudoku - Direct Solves and Deductive Techniques | PDF",1791923332]