LinkedIn Queens answer for Saturday, October 17: #900

Queens solution, step by step

Each LinkedIn Queens step places one queen and closes its row, its column, its region and the squares touching it.

1. Step 1: The Gray, Red and Yellow regions sit entirely in rows 5, 6 and 7, so no other queen can go in those rows. The Green region sits entirely in row 4, so no other queen can go in row 4. The Blue region has only one open square left, so its queen goes in row 3, column 3 (R3C3).
2. Step 2: The Orange region has only one open square left, so its queen goes in row 2, column 1 (R2C1).
3. Step 3: The Green and Gray regions sit entirely in columns 5 and 6, so no other queen can go in those columns. A queen in row 5, column 5 would leave the Green region with no open square, so that square is out. The Gray region sits entirely in row 6, so no other queen can go in row 6. The Yellow region sits entirely in column 7, so no other queen can go in column 7. A queen in row 5, column 7 would leave column 6 with no open square, so that square is out. The Yellow region has only one open square left, so its queen goes in row 7, column 7 (R7C7).
4. Step 4: The Gray region has only one open square left, so its queen goes in row 6, column 5 (R6C5).
5. Step 5: The Green region has only one open square left, so its queen goes in row 4, column 6 (R4C6).
6. Step 6: A queen in row 8, column 2 would leave the Beige region with no open square, so that square is out. Column 2 has only one open square left, so its queen goes in row 9 (Beige region) (R9C2).
7. Step 7: The Pink region has only one open square left, so its queen goes in row 8, column 9 (R8C9).
8. Step 8: The Red region has only one open square left, so its queen goes in row 5, column 8 (R5C8).
9. Step 9: The Purple region has only one open square left, so its queen goes in row 1, column 4 (R1C4).

Answer coordinates: R1C4, R2C1, R3C3, R4C6, R5C8, R6C5, R7C7, R8C9, R9C2