Tag Archives: Cubing

May 12th Cubing Competition!

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I have just gotten back from my first ever cubing competition! I mentioned this in my Feliks Zemdegs post and I was super excited for it. I was only able to participate in 3×3 only but I still had a blast solving, and meeting lots of new people at the competition. Here is how the day went.

My dad and I drove up the night before to avoid waking up at 3:00 AM in the morning to drive there on Saturday.

Late night adjustments at the hotel.

Driving to McAdenville!

 

We stayed in a hotel and drove there on Saturday from a much closer distance. We parked and walked up to the small YMCA building that the competition was being hosted at. I sat down at a table and did some solves. After a few minutes, a few other kids joined me at my table. There were about 70 competitors. I talked with the kids at my table and learned that they were some first timers also. We practiced together and tried each others cubes. There was a really quick solver at my table and I got to try one of his cubes I have always wanted. I was in 3×3 heat one so I got to do my solves very early on. I did five solves and I averaged 44 seconds. For me, this is really bad but it wasn’t horrible. But, I did get a 31 second solve which I was super happy about. I didn’t move onto round two but I still had a great time. Here are some of my solves my dad got on video.

My 12th Cubing Competition! Video 1 from DA MS Student Council on Vimeo.

My 12th Cubing Competition! Video 2 from DA MS Student Council on Vimeo.

My final thoughts are that competitions are a blast. You get so much practice, experience, and you get to meet and talk with tons of new people. If you can solve a cube using the beginners in under two or so minutes, you should definitely go to competition. There were even parents solving it in like 1 minute and 40 seconds and they were still having a fun time. As a matter of fact, the day after this competition I signed up for another competition in June! My goal for the June competition is to get at least one sub 30 second solve and get a sub 40 second average. I also am doing 2×2 at this competition and I am really excited.

How Feliks Zemdegs Broke the Rubik’s Cube World Record(4.59 seconds) and Tutorial on how to solve.

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Feliks Zemdegs, is the world’s fastest speed solver. He holds many world records and recently broke the 3×3 world record and solved a Rubik’s Cube in 4.59 seconds! This post will tell you how he did it.

First of all, lets start with how Feliks solves the cube. Feliks uses a method called CFOP. CFOP is an advanced method that solves first, a cross on the bottom layer, then solves the first 2 layer (f2l), then it orients the last layer (OLL), and finally moves around the pieces of the last layer permutimg it (PLL). This method is used by top speed solvers and has broken many records.

But what makes Feliks Zemdegs so different? As a cuber myself, I ask this a lot. First, Feliks can do at maximum, 12 turns per SECOND. It’s crazy. He is also very proficient with very little pasues. And finally he practices. He has been cubing for ten years now and really has an aptitude for it. He has broke countless records and is an inspiration for me, and many cubers.

Feliks Zemdegs at a competition in 2013.
Attribution: Lembasts at English Wikipedia

 

Why did I make this post? I made this post because I love the cube. My personal record is 28 seconds and I use the same method as Feliks called CFOP. I am going to a competition in May and will be making a post about it! My personal goals are to practice and learn new algorithms to the point that I will be sub 10 seconds and go to many competitions.

Fun Facts!

The largest cube is a 33×33!

There is a World Cube Association (WCA) which hosts competitions (I am going to one!)

The fastest time a 3×3 was ever solved (Unofficial) was 3.85 seconds but it doesn’t count because it wasn’t in a competition.

There are 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible combinations for a 3×3!

The Rubik’s Cube is 40 years old.

 

How to Get Started With Solving

Now, I’m not going to put a full tutorial in here. That would be more of something for a video. But, If you are interested, I can direct you on how to get started. Here are some steps.

1. Get a Rubik’s Cube, if you just want to know how to solve it, get a Rubik’s  brand. It is the original but it is not the best but that doesn’t matter for just learning. (If you ever want to speed solve, don’t get a Rubik’s brand.)

2. Find a good tutorial for the beginner’s method (On Youtube). I recommend Noah Richardson’s beginner tutorial.

3. Deside whether you want to get faster.

4. If so practice.

5. If you ever want to get really into it, learn CFOP (the advanced method), this is what I did after about a month.

 

Thanks for reading the blog! I hope you enjoyed it! Comment down below if you have ever solved the cube or if you are into speed solving. Also, if you want more info on the subject, ask your questions in the comments!

-Happy Solving!