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nataraj
Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 1048
Location: near Vienna, Austria
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 Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 4:44 pm Post subject: Does this one really need an 8-link xy-chain? |
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This puzzle from today's local paper is really hard.
| Code: | +-----------+-----------+-----------+
| 5 . . | 2 . 6 | . . 3 |
| . 4 9 | . . . | 6 2 . |
| . . . | . . . | . . . |
+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| 1 . . | . . . | . . 8 |
| 6 9 . | . 8 . | 3 5 2 |
| . . 3 | . . . | 7 . . |
+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| . . 8 | . 6 . | 4 . . |
| . . 5 | . . . | 1 . . |
| 9 . . | 4 . 8 | . . 7 |
+-----------+-----------+-----------+
|
play online
Usually their puzzles are rather tame, but with this one, the best I could do was this:
(after coloring on 4 and a kite on 9)
| Code: |
+--------------------------+--------------------------+--------------------------+
| 5 17 17# | 2 49# 6 | 8 49# 3 |
| 38 4 9 | 3578 37 357 | 6 2 1 |
| 238 68 26 | 389 1 349 | 5 7 49 |
+--------------------------+--------------------------+--------------------------+
| 1 57 27* | 356 -234 -235 | 9 46 8 |
| 6 9 4 | 17 8 17 | 3 5 2 |
|-28 58 3 | 569 29* 2459 | 7 1 46 |
+--------------------------+--------------------------+--------------------------+
| 7 23 8 | 139 6 1239 | 4 39# 5 |
| 4 236 5 | 379 237 2379 | 1 8 69 |
| 9 136 16# | 4 5 8 | 2 36# 7 |
+--------------------------+--------------------------+--------------------------+
|
play online
... to use a long xy-chain (from 27 in r4c3 via column 3 and column 8 into col 5 to 29 in r6c5.
I checked it once more but have no better idea. URs anyone? |
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Asellus
Joined: 05 Jun 2007
Posts: 865
Location: Sonoma County, CA, USA
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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There is a 38 UR at r23c14: <3> can be removed from r2c4 due to the strong links. But, it isn't helpful. I can't find anything better than your XY Chain.
Not simpler, but sort of interesting: if you Medusa color one cluster based in the right tower and another based in the left tower, a multi-color wrap results. (One color of the left cluster sees both colors of the other cluster.) But, the result is exactly the same as the XY Chain. |
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keith
Joined: 19 Sep 2005
Posts: 3355
Location: near Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:30 pm Post subject: |
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There are shorter chains that attack <2> (4 links) and then <5> (6 links) in R6C6. Not very helpful.
Maybe you should get a different newspaper?
Keith 
By the way, the puzzle is not quite symmetric. If you make it so, by putting <4> in R5C3, that does not help to make it easier, except in the initial steps. |
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nataraj
Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 1048
Location: near Vienna, Austria
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 5:10 am Post subject: |
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| keith wrote: | | Maybe you should get a different newspaper? |
that would be very drastic. No, I don't think so. It's been only a few weeks that they introduced the advanced level and they probably still struggle to get it just right.
I actually quite like not knowing which solution methods will do the trick...
Thanks everybody for taking the time to look into this one! |
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