Katarzyna Piotrowska How About Speedcubing?

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Invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik, a Hungarian professor of architecture, Rubik’s CubeRubik’s CubeRubik’s Cube’s popularity has been on the riseon the riseon the rise ever since. The first world championship in solving the Rubik’s Cube puzzle took place in 1982 in the capital of Hungary, Budapest. The winner of the championship was the American, Minh Tai, who successfully completed the puzzle in 22.95 seconds, which at that time was considered the fastest‑ever Rubik’s Cube solve. The cubing’s popularity then decreased for nearly two decadesdecades [decade]decades to increase again with the common access to the internet, which led to the creation of speedcubingspeedcubingspeedcubing online communities.

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The second world championship was held in Toronto, Canada, which was followed by another competition in the Netherlands. The year 2004 marked the creation of the World Cube Association (WCA), the official body responsible for setting up competition regulations, training judges, supervisingsupervising [supervise]supervising competitions, and uploading results on their website. From 2004 onwards, the number of competitions have multipliedmultiplied [multiply]multiplied and World Championships are organised biannuallybiannuallybiannually, with the exception of 2021, when the event was cancelled owing toowing toowing to the Covid‑19 pandemic.

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Speedcubing, known also as cubing or speedsolving, refers to the sport whose aim is to solve a Rubik’s Cube puzzle, to have all cubiescubies [cubie]cubies of the same colour on each cube’s facecube’s facecube’s face, or to work out other combination puzzles as quickly as possible. Speedcubing contains a variety ofvariety ofvariety of standard puzzles: 2×2×2, 3×3×3, 4×4×4, 5×5×5, 6×6×6, and 7×7×7. Among the most popular or iconiciconiciconic is the 3×3×3 puzzle. Apart from speedsolving, this particular puzzle also features in blindfolded (BLD)blindfolded speedsolving (BLD)blindfolded (BLD) and multiple blindfolded solvingmultiple blindfolded solvingmultiple blindfolded solving, one‑handed solving (OH)one‑handed solving (OH)one‑handed solving (OH), and solving in fewest moves challenges (FMC)fewest moves challenges (FMC) [fewest move challenge (FMC)]fewest moves challenges (FMC).

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During official puzzle competitions, the organisers ensureensureensure the participation of at least one WCA delegate. This is a must for the competition to be approved by the WCA. The competitors ought to use their own puzzles during the event. Before the round begins, participants hand in their puzzles, which are then scrambledscrambled [scramble]scrambled by means of a computer‑generated scramble. When they are given back their puzzle, they have up to 15 seconds to look at it before they can unscrambleunscrambleunscramble it. Competitors place their hands on the StackMat timerthe StackMat timerthe StackMat timer and when they begin solving their puzzle, they move their hands which starts the timer. Typically, each participant is given 5 rounds of puzzle solving and only 3 of these, which are the best results, are averagedare averaged [be averaged]are averaged to provide the final result. The top‑average result in the 2019 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia was achieved by a German cubercubercuber, Philipp Weyer. The champion’s average result was 6.74 seconds.

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In the past, most cubers used the Rubik’s Cube in competitions, however, nowadays, there are various other cube manufacturersmanufacturers [manufacturer]manufacturers. Since 2015, competitors are allowed to use stickerlessstickerlessstickerless puzzles which have coloured plastic to indicate colour. During competitions, professional cubers often use specialised lubricantslubricants [lubricant]lubricants to improve the speed of cube manipulation, but it is not recommended for amateurs, because the substance may damage the cube. Professionals statestate (verb)state that if amateur cubers can solve the puzzle within 10 minutes, they are ready for applying for speedsolving competitions. In order to become a champion, cubers mastermaster (verb)master various methods and solving techniques and network withnetwork withnetwork with other speedcubers. Among them are: the Roux methodthe Roux methodthe Roux method, the CFOP methodthe CFOP methodthe CFOP method, and the ZZ methodthe ZZ methodthe ZZ method.

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Generally, speedcubing is connected with learning algorithmsalgorithms [algorithm]algorithms and solving systems, which may reach hundreds of algorithms to be learned. Due to the widespreadwidespreadwidespread access toaccess toaccess to speedsolving shops and free tutorials provided online, everyone willing can try their hand attry their hand at [try his/her hand at]try their hand at speedsolving and develop new skills. Among the benefits of learning to solve the puzzles, apart from developing manual skillsmanual skillsmanual skills of course, there are also: increased concentration, better memory and improved mathematical, thinking and social skills. However, what matters most is constant practice. Fancy grabbing your own cube and giving it a go?

1 Źródło: Katarzyna Piotrowska, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.