Tough Sudoku for 29/April/2006

Blocked?

Apparently not.

6.02 :-)

ian, not only blocked also in a wrong company..

9:09 Maen

I was really thick today. Needed 3 guesses to get started.

Mmmm. Delicious!

to AP: You lost me...

what wrong company?

14:28 with two guesses--as usual, a short attention span. Great weekend to all!

pretty easy today at oint when simple steps fail can show if b2 or d2 =4 then e4 is not 6. then if c4 is 2 or 6 e4 is 4 and easy to end. don't really write everything down so i don't know if you really have to eliminate the 6 first at e4.

13:15 w/ only one guess.

Fruit,trying to get us to eat healthy? I still like my chocolate :-)

yummy..

G'Maen, all.

Nice little toughie. 8:07 total minutes, 4:18 to set up, and 3:49 to solve.

Anyone else having trouble with the Congratulations interrupt? I couldn't get it to go away.

Maen all. I am with you, Jeannette P., with the chocolate but how about dipping the fruit into melted chocolate? YUMMAY!

7:12

22'58 not quite straight and narrow... G'mAen, all. Jeannette and Evvie, it made me hungry, too, but I also immediately saw the value of dipping.

25:28

Start at 23F. UP to 28F.
1. 456 Bh2. UP to 36.
2. Locked 7's Be2. UP to 40.
3. c6=8==c6=6--e6=6==e6=3--e9=3==h9=3--h7=3 ==h7=4--c7=4==c7=2--c4=2==c4=6 contradicts c6=6 ==> forbids c6=6. UP to 81. Kind of a long FC, but only a 3 step proof.

13:51, but no guesses
'tis a good day
mAen all
And now six hours of studio time!

No guesses... an all time first!

14:00 with 2 guesses. good mAen all!

31:36
Found it very difficult

mAen to all. Healthy eating! Is that MacIntosh from Canada?

9:57 - but I needed two guesses to finish...

I have a daughter who calls herself a fruitopian - she loves fruit!

A new variation on an old classic...still life.

Thanks for yesterday's proof Sundance. I followed your fc OK and the rest I managed without difficulty. First 'success' for some time on 'tough'

8.35
beautiful fruit
have a great day/night one and all

With a small chunk of sharp cheese, yum !!

Late looking at this one today.

I see Sundance has provided us with a fine proof.

I will offer an alternate approach, with the caveat that I like Sundance's better than mine, as her proof is more visual - and also a more classical type of fc. (Mine uses hybrid type arguments, which although valid, generally are less elegant.)
1) Start at 23 filled - the given puzzle. Unique Possibilities to 28. (UP 28).
2) Hidden pair 19 at fh1 forbids 57 at f1, 4568 at h1. UP 36.
3) Locked 7's at e13 forbids 7 at e4679. UP 40.
4) e5=4 == d45=4 -- d2=4 == b2=4 -- c1=4 == c7=4 -- c7=2 == c4=2 forbids e4=2. UP 81.

max depth 4 at step 4, total sets: 2 + 1 + 4 = 7.

13:23 I love chocolate, but if I'm going to dip my fruit, I prefer yogurt! With the possible exceptions of strawberries & cherries...I have to admit, they're best dipped in chocolate!

Steve,
I knew you'd find a shorter fc. Mine was easy to see, with all the cells that had only 2 possibilities. But you always seem to find chains with short max depth. (BTW, for anyone interested, step 4 should start e4=4. It is so hard to prevent typos...)

At 40 filled (presumably the same 40 as Sundance)
an alternative FC??
If c4 =2, c1=6, c7=4, h7=3, e9=3 and no 2s in Ce

Therefore c4=6 and then easy fillings to that rosy apple.

I'm always a bit casual in my approach so will happily take reproach.

Sorry -Leave out the C1=6. That was an earlier try.

18:57 after setup. That is one yummy looking apple! But I'm feeling tired like the fish over in hard so off to bed, I think. See you all tomorrow!

I finished it, but I don't think timers go that high! Need more practice.

It could be a Mac apple, or a spartan maybe?

Yee-ha! First tough solved on pure logic, no guesses! mAen to all.

24:57 getting faster. Haven't had grapes for ages.

Thanks for finding my typo Sundance! I checked it and still did not see it! I just do not think' letternumber' when I see a cell... so oftentimes I miss them even when I check!

Hi fi!
You have a fine solution! It is depth 4, and written as a fc it would look like:

e4=2 == e9=2 -- e9=3 == h9=3 -- h7=3 == h7=4 -- c7=4 == c7=2 forbids c4=2.

Depth of this step is 4, which is the minimum posted for this puzzle today.

Of all the fc's posted up to this time, I like fi's the best now - as it is classically a true fc (no combination arguments like mine) and it also is of minimum depth: 4.