Sudoku technique · First needed at: Medium
Naked pair
Two cells share the same two options, so those numbers are locked out of the rest of the group.
An example from a real puzzle
- Where the deduction happens
- The cells that make the pattern
- Candidates it removes
How to spot it
- Look for two cells in the same row, column or box that each have exactly the same two candidates.
- Remove those two numbers from every other cell of that group.
Why it works
The two cells will take those two numbers between them, in one order or the other, so no other cell in the group can have either.
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