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How to Find Naked Pairs in Sudoku

A pair can eliminate candidates before you place another digit.

How a naked pair works

Suppose r4c4 and r4c8 each have exactly the candidates 2 and 9. Since every digit appears once in row 4, those digits must occupy these two cells in some order.

We do not yet know which cell is 2 or 9. However, both candidates can be eliminated from all other cells in row 4.

Avoid common mistakes

Exactly two cells in the unit must contain the same two-candidate set. Three cells with the same pair are not a naked pair. Both cells must belong to the same row, column or box.

This technique often makes a single appear elsewhere rather than placing a digit directly.

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