PATTERN RECOGNITION FOR BEGINERS

SEGMENTS AND PHANTOM/GHOSTS NUMBERS

Welcome to this Sudoku tutorial for beginners! In this video I’ll build on previous
lessons to help you solve puzzles more efficiently.
COMPLETED SEGMENTS
PHANTOM/GHOSTS NUMBERS
VIRTUALLY COMPLETED SEGMENTS
COMPLETED SEGMENTS WITH CANDIDATES PEBNCILED IN
This lesson is on recognizing the completed segment pattern, its easy to
recognize, and a powerful tool to help place numbers.

Let’s start by first defining what a segment is, then I’ll show you how to use it
strategically.
First, what is a segment? A segment is when 3 cells line up together,
across a row, or
down a column.
SOLUTION : We will try to fill a number X in the row or column with completed
segment but there are some rules in trying to fill X :-
1 X should not in the block of the completed segment
2 X should not be in same row or column of completed segment

EXPLAINATION BELOW
The cells must line up in the same 3x3 block.
Let’s take a look at this 3x3 block.
The pattern we’re looking for in this lesson is a “completed” segment.
This means that all 3 cells in the segment have numbers in them.
Here’s an example of a completed VERTICAL segment.

You see how easy it is to recognize the pattern?

WE CAN HAVE BLANK SEGMENTS TOO BUT THEY ARE NOT USED TO SOLVE THE
PUZZLE
These 3 cells all line up horizontally within the block, so these 3 cells make up a
segment..
And these 3 cells all line up vertically within the block, so this is also a segment.

Look for it when you’re solving a puzzle, it can help you to find numbers you
might otherwise not see.
Sometimes a puzzle starts off with a completed segment already in the puzzle,
and sometimes it appears later as you fill in the numbers.

Let’s have a look at how this pattern can help and then I’ll give you some tips on
what to look for.

In this example there is only one 4 in the middle rank – that is the middle group of
horizontal blocks.
But there IS a completed segment in block 5,
Placement : that’s going to enable me to place the 4 here, in row D column 2.

Lets’ have a closer look at block 5, where can the 4 go in block 5?

Well, since there ‘s a completed segment in row D, and there’s already a 4 in row
E, then the 4 HAS to go in one of these two cells in row F.

Now do you see why the 4 MUST go IN D2

Row F is eliminated since the 4 is penciled into two locations

POS OF 4 in block 5.
If we are using Snyder notation then we know the 4 must be in one of those two
cells and no where else in block 5.

These cells contain what is sometimes referred to as “Ghost 4’s” since we know
for sure a 4 is in one of those two cells, we just don’t know which, so they are
Ghost numbers, sometimes called Phantom numbers.
And row E is eliminated because there is already a 4 in row E block 6,

so the 4 in block 4 must go in row D, and the only cell open is this one, row D
column 2.

Using the completed segment in block 5 we were able to place the number easily
in block 4.
I’ll give you some more powerful ways you can use the completed segment
pattern in a minute, but first I need to point out two constraints on using this
pattern:
1. The number we are trying to place (in this case the number 4) can
NOT appear in the same block as the completed segment, so we
can’t have a 4 anywhere in block 5…and

2. The number you are trying to place can NOT appear in the same row
or column as the completed segment.

So if the 4 that is in block 6 was in row D, the same row as the

completed segment, than this strategy wouldn’t work.
 The number has to be in a different row, or column, than the
completed segment.
In this example the 4 in block 6 is in row E, so that works.

Example completed segment in a column You can see right away the completed
segment in block 7

Whenever you see a completed segment, look outside that block,

either up the same stack,
or across the same rank,
 look for a number that is NOT in the same block as the completed segment,
and not in the same row or column of the completed segment.

Do you see a number that fits that description in this example? Think….do you see
it? Pause this video and look.
The completed segment is here, in Block 7,
and the only numbers in that stack that’s are not in block 7 are the
numbers 1 and 6.

But the 6 is in the same column as the completed segment,

so the only number that conforms to the rules is the number 1.
Num 1 is not in block 7, and its not in the same column as the completed
segment.
Now that we’ve identified the number 1, do you see where it can be placed in
block 4? It would go right here, in row E column 3
Lets look at block 7, because it has a completed segment in column 3, and there’s
already a 1 in column 2,

Then we get possible candidates for 1 in H1 or J1

then the 1 has to go in column 1 in block 7, either H1 or J1 (pencil mark those in),

these are viewed as ghost or phantom numbers since we know the 1 is here
somewhere, we just can’t see it yet.

Now when we look at block 4, the 1 can’t go in column 1 because of the ghost
numbers in column 1,
No 1 cannot go in Col 2 as Col 2 already has a 1 in block 1,

so the only place the 1 can go is…here in column 3, row e.

Here’s another example

Well, first there is a completed segment here, in block 5, row E.
Now can we do anything with the number 6 in block 4?
WE WILL TRY TO FILL 6 IN ROW IS AS 6 IS NOT PRESENT IN BLOCK WITH
COMPLETED SEGMENT AND 6 IS NOT PRESENT IN ROW OF COMPLETED
SEGMENT
SO 6 WILL GO INTO in block 6, row E column 8….

Let’s take a look at block 5, where can a 6 go? It can’t go in row D since there is
already a 6 in row D, and it can’t go in row E because of the completed segment,
so the 6 must go in one of the 3 open cells in row F, those numbers are ghosts,

but still it means that a 6 can NOT go in row F in block 6,

so now do you see where the 6 goes, it can ONLY go here.
So using the completed segment pattern, along with the ghost numbers in block
5 we can place the 6 in block 6 AS UNDER

There is a variation on completed segments, where the segment isn’t totally

completed, but can be considered completed, for example
take a look at this puzzle grid, it’s the same as before, except now we don’t have
a completed segment in block 5 BUT we have a 6 in column 6:
That 6 in column 6 effectively blocks this cell (row e column 6) from being a 6, and
we can think of this segment as a “virtual completed segment” since its acts the
same way for the number 6.

Even though we don’t have a completed segment here, it acts like one, and these
two cells again contain ghost 6’s, so now we can place the 6 in block 6, here.
Now let’s take a look at another way we can use the completed segment when
we have candidates penciled in.
COMPLETED SEGMENTS WITH CANDIDATES PENCILED IN

First lets look at a puzzle without candidates penciled in:

We see here we have a 5 in block 6,

WE TRY TO FILL 5 IN COMPLETED SEGMENT ROW E BECAUSE 5 IS NOT PRESENT
IN COMPLETED SEGMENT BLOCK AND ALSO 5 IS ROT AVAILABLE IN COMPLETED
SEGMENT ROW E

In BLOCK 5 the num 5 can only go in row F because of the completed segment in
ROW E of the block 5
Does that help us to place a 5 somewhere in block 4? Well in this case, no, since
the 5 can go either in E2 or E3

But lets say we had previously penciled in a matching pair using Snyder notation,
like this:

Now we can deduce where the 5 goes in block 4, do you see where?
Well since we have ghost 5’s here in block 5, then this cell (row F column 1) can
no longer be a 5, it MUST therefore be a 2,
then the cell E2 with matching pair of (2,5) would be the 5.

That’s it for this lesson,