Sashimi Fish
A Fish with one missing base corner and a fin in the same box, producing a precise local elimination.
What it is
A Sashimi Fish is a stricter asymmetric Fish. One base line has only one of the two expected X-Wing corners plus one or more fins in the same box. The other base line contains both corners. Either the visible corner is true or the fin is true, so the digit is already claimed in that box and cannot remain on the corresponding cross-line elsewhere in the box.
How to spot it
Find a digit with two possible cross-lines. One base line must show both positions. The other must show exactly one matching position and at least one fin, with that visible position and all fins in one box. If an additional base position appears, it is not this safe Sashimi pattern.
Worked example
Step through the reasoning below. Each step adds one layer: first the position, then the pattern, then the candidates involved, and finally what can be eliminated.
Step 1 of 4: The starting position
- Pattern cells
- 1/2, 4/2, 4/8, 4/9, 5/8
- Digits
- 5
- Eliminations
- 4/9
Press a marked square to point it out on the board above.
Why it matters
Sashimi Fish teaches an important expert habit: an incomplete-looking Fish can still be rigorous when its missing corner is compensated by a box. It appears less often than X-Wing, but it converts a visual near-miss into a short proof rather than a guess.
Practise now
Solve a puzzle where this technique decides the game
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called Sashimi Fish?
The name describes a Fish pattern with a piece apparently missing. One corner is absent, but the fin in the same box supplies the logical alternative that makes the elimination valid.
Is every Finned Fish also Sashimi?
No. A regular Finned Fish still has all its base corners. Sashimi specifically needs a base line with one matching corner missing and no additional base candidate on that line.
Does Sashimi Fish eliminate an entire line?
No. Its conclusion is deliberately local: only candidates in the fin box on the matching cross-line and outside the base lines are removed.
Put it to use
Where you will meet it
Expert grids are the only place this pattern regularly decides the solve. Bring your notes.
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