The full logical solve of the hard Queens for September 8 to September 14, 2026, 10 × 10. 24 steps, 7 techniques, no guessing. Step through it, or jump to any step below.
The region at row 4, column 9 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 4, column 9. Its queen goes there.
Suppose a queen sat at row 1, column 2. It would rule out every open square of row 3, which then has nowhere for its queen. So row 1, column 2 can’t have a queen.
Suppose a queen sat at row 2, column 1. It would rule out every open square of row 3, which then has nowhere for its queen. So row 2, column 1 can’t have a queen.
Suppose a queen sat at row 2, column 2. It would rule out every open square of row 3, which then has nowhere for its queen. So row 2, column 2 can’t have a queen.
Suppose a queen sat at row 2, column 3. It would rule out every open square of row 3, which then has nowhere for its queen. So row 2, column 3 can’t have a queen.
Suppose a queen sat at row 7, column 7. It would rule out every open square of the region at row 7, column 8, which then has nowhere for its queen. So row 7, column 7 can’t have a queen.
Suppose a queen sat at row 9, column 3. It would rule out every open square of column 2, which then has nowhere for its queen. So row 9, column 3 can’t have a queen.
The open squares of the regions at row 1, column 7 and row 1, column 4 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.
Every open square of the region at row 1, column 1 is in row 3. So row 3’s queen belongs to that region, and the rest of row 3 can’t have one.
Suppose a queen sat at row 6, column 6. It would rule out every open square of the region at row 2, column 10, which then has nowhere for its queen. So row 6, column 6 can’t have a queen.
Suppose a queen sat at row 6, column 7. It would rule out every open square of the region at row 2, column 10, which then has nowhere for its queen. So row 6, column 7 can’t have a queen.
The open squares of the regions at row 1, column 7, row 7, column 8 and row 2, column 10 all sit inside columns 7, 8 and 10. Those three columns hold exactly three queens, and the regions need all of them. So no other square in columns 7, 8 and 10 can have a queen.
The region at row 8, column 9 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 10, column 6. Its queen goes there.
Every open square of the region at row 4, column 5 is in column 5. So column 5’s queen belongs to that region, and the rest of column 5 can’t have one.
The region at row 1, column 4 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 1, column 4. Its queen goes there.
The region at row 1, column 7 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 2, column 8. Its queen goes there.
Every open square of the region at row 7, column 5 is in column 1. So column 1’s queen belongs to that region, and the rest of column 1 can’t have one.
The region at row 1, column 1 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 3, column 3. Its queen goes there.
Suppose a queen sat at row 8, column 1. It would rule out every open square of row 9, which then has nowhere for its queen. So row 8, column 1 can’t have a queen.
The region at row 7, column 5 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 9, column 1. Its queen goes there.
Row 8 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 8, column 7. Its queen goes there.
The region at row 2, column 10 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 6, column 10. Its queen goes there.
The region at row 4, column 5 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 5, column 5. Its queen goes there.
The region at row 3, column 2 has one square left that can hold its queen, at row 7, column 2. Its queen goes there.