Sudoku Battle
← All Techniques

XY-Wing

Advanced

Three cells with paired candidates that eliminate a common candidate.

How It Works

XY-Wing involves a pivot cell with two candidates (XY) and two wing cells. One wing has candidates XZ and the other YZ. Any cell that sees both wings cannot contain Z.

Step by Step

  1. Find a pivot cell with exactly two candidates (X, Y).
  2. Find two wing cells that each share one candidate with the pivot and have a common third candidate Z.
  3. Eliminate Z from any cell that can see both wing cells.

Practice This Technique

Try solving a puzzle and look for opportunities to apply XY-Wing.

Play Now