This post continues the review of 10 pre-selected Beware! Very Challenging puzzles from Will Shortz’ volume 1 of Hard Sudoku, with Beware 125. The review is a Sysudoku Basic Clinic, all being solved before candidates are completed and advanced methods begin.

The basic trace is one long bypass collapse, requiring a restart at the left to stay on the screen.

After that first leg down to S6, we see a characteristic of this collection, a large number of naked pairs, some claiming box space to create others.

The first one, SE56, is easy to miss. The steep run from there demonstrates sharp bypass action and 3-fill power.

A chain of pair resolutions comes at the end.

Our next Basic challenge is Beware 135. It is another chute filler, requiring accurate box and line marking.