Logic Puzzle Club

Queens of the week: week 1

The full logical solve of the hard Queens for September 1 to September 7, 2026, 10 × 10. 18 steps, 7 techniques, no guessing. Step through it, or jump to any step below.

Last square in a region. The region at row 4, column 10 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 4, column 10. Its queen goes there.
Step 1 of 18

Every step

  1. The region at row 4, column 10 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 4, column 10. Its queen goes there.

  2. The region at row 9, column 7 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 9, column 7. Its queen goes there.

  3. The region at row 6, column 6 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 6, column 6. Its queen goes there.

  4. Every open square of the region at row 4, column 9 is in row 7. So row 7’s queen belongs to that region, and the rest of row 7 can’t have one.

  5. Suppose a queen sat at row 1, column 2. It would rule out every open square of the region at row 1, column 3, which then has nowhere for its queen. So row 1, column 2 can’t have a queen.

  6. Every open square of the region at row 1, column 1 is in column 1. So column 1’s queen belongs to that region, and the rest of column 1 can’t have one.

  7. Suppose a queen sat at row 2, column 2. It would rule out every open square of column 1, which then has nowhere for its queen. So row 2, column 2 can’t have a queen.

  8. Suppose a queen sat at row 2, column 4. It would rule out every open square of the region at row 1, column 3, which then has nowhere for its queen. So row 2, column 4 can’t have a queen.

  9. The open squares of the regions at row 7, column 1 and row 7, column 9 all sit inside rows 8 and 10. Those two rows hold exactly two queens, and the regions need all of them. So no other square in rows 8 and 10 can have a queen.

  10. The open squares of the regions at row 1, column 1 and row 1, column 3 all sit inside rows 1 and 2. Those two rows hold exactly two queens, and the regions need all of them. So no other square in rows 1 and 2 can have a queen.

  11. Every open square of column 9 is in the region at row 7, column 9. So that region’s queen is in column 9, and the region’s other squares can’t have one.

  12. Column 5 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 3, column 5. Its queen goes there.

  13. Column 8 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 7, column 8. Its queen goes there.

  14. The region at row 7, column 9 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 10, column 9. Its queen goes there.

  15. The region at row 7, column 1 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 8, column 3. Its queen goes there.

  16. The region at row 3, column 1 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 5, column 2. Its queen goes there.

  17. The region at row 1, column 3 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 1, column 4. Its queen goes there.

  18. The region at row 1, column 1 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 2, column 1. Its queen goes there.