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A man named Ernö Rubik invented the Rubik’s Cube in 1974. Ernö Rubik was a Hungarian professor of architecture, and he was concerned with the architectural design of the cubical puzzle which included his interests in geometry, 3D forms, and games. This colorful mechanical puzzle, which he originally dubbed the “Magic Cube,” allowed for 43 quintillion possible arrangements. Industrial production for the Rubik’s Cube began in 1977, and the puzzle became very popular in Hungary. International recognition for the cube began in the early 1980’s, and shortly after competitions of solving the cube in the fastest time emerged throughout the world. This began the age of “speedcubing” (i.e. speed-solving the Rubik’s Cube) which to this day is advancing to greater methods and techniques in solving the Rubik’s Cube in the fastest possible time by a human being. Other Rubik’s products have also been popular, including the 4×4x4 “Rubik’s Revenge” and 5×5x5 “Professor Cube” but my interest lies in the original 3×3x3 Rubik’s Cube. Below is a brief history of the legendary international speedcubing events and feats.
1st place (world champion): Minh Thai (USA)
2nd place: Guus Razoux Schultz (Netherlands)
3rd place: Zoltán Lábas (Hungary)
The first world championship set place in Budapest, Hungary, on June 5, 1982. It was here that nineteen participants from all over the world attempted to solve the Rubik’s Cube as fast as possible. To watch a video of the actual tournament, you can download it here (Copyright: Swedish television, 1982). The setup for this tournament was such that the competitors solved one cube for each round, for three rounds. The world champion would be determined by the fastest single solve of the three rounds. The official world record in 1982 was set by Minh Thai, also given the title of 1982 world champion. Thai represented the United States, with a solving time of 22.95 seconds. The 22.95 second solving time will ultimately be the world record standard for the next twenty years. International speedcubers would post their fastest times on a website, Speedcubing.com, as well as participate in yahoo forums to investigate numerous algorithms and methods to surpass the 22.95 second solving time barrier for the 3×3x3 Rubik’s Cube. You can see the 1982 results for the world champion participants here. (For more information about the 1982 Rubik’s World Championship, visit Jessica Fridrich’s website, who participated in the 1982 tournament and is still today considered a legend. Fridrich designed a system for solving the Rubik’s Cube that is the most commonly used by speedcubers, including myself).
1st place (world champion): Dan Knights (USA)
2nd place: Jessica Fridrich (USA)
3rd place: David Wesley (Sweden)
The second Rubik’s world championship took place on August 23-24, 2003, in Toronto, Canada. Speedcubers all over the world gathered yet again to solve the Rubik’s Cube in the fastest possible time. This was the first major tournament since the 1982 championships. The rules for this 2003 tournament changed from that of the 1982 tournament. For the 2003 world championships, the fastest average (instead of single time) would determine the world champion. This is due to the “luck” involved in lucky solves, which would not represent the speedcuber’s usual and true skill. Instead, the first round was best of 3 solves; the second (semi-final) round was best of 3 solves; the final round (top eight from semi-final round) was an average of 5 solves. Dan Knights took the title of 2003 world champion with the fastest average time of 20.00 seconds, and Jess Bonde took the 2003 world record for a single fastest solving time of 16.53 seconds. (To see full results, go here).
1st place (world champion): Jean Pons (France)
2nd place: Edouard Chambon (France)
3rd place: Shotaro “Macky” Makisumi (Japan)
The third Rubik’s world championship took place November 5-6, 2005, in Orlando, Florida at Disney World. Since the 2003 world tournament, national and local tournaments began to take place across the world as the Rubik’s crave emerged among the young and talented. One significant group of speedcubers from Caltech (organized by Tyson Mao) began to unfold a very talented speedcuber Shotaro Makisumi (”Macky”) who represented Japan, who was in high school at the time. It was in 2003-2005 that the era of Macky’s skill proved to the world a newer level of speedcubing. He revealed greater levels of speed and focus in the tournament setting, as the nerves of the competitor has a lot to do with performance. The speedcubers of France, including Jean Pons and Edouard Chambon, began gaining recognition for their fast times as well. By now most of the competitors for the 2005 world tournament had solving times below 20 seconds. This led to another change in the structure of the tournament: the first round was best of 3; the second (semi-final) round was average of 5; the final round (top 12 from semi-final) was an average of 5. The fastest average in the final round was performed by Jean Pons of France, crowned as 2005 world champion. The world record for a single fastest solve time was performed by Jean Pons earlier that year at a local tournament in California. (To see full results, go here).
1st place (world champion): Yu Nakajima (Japan)
2nd place: Andrew Kang (USA)
3rd place: Mitsuki Gunji (Japan)
The fourth Rubik’s world championship took place October 5-7, 2007, in Budapest, Hungary. This was the 25th anniversary of the first Rubik’s world championship. This would be the most intense world championship in history, as the world speedcubers were faster than ever before. The solving times kept improving among the cubing community as more talent and interest entered the world tournaments. Since so many competitors were sub-20 speedcubers, the rules again had changed for this tournament from the previos world tournament, as each round was an average of 5 solves. The 2007 world champion was Yu Nakajima of Japan with an average solving time of 12.46 seconds. At the time the world record for a single solve was in the 10 second range. This would be the second world tournament Mr. Rubik would attend. He announced this would be his last public appearance. This tournament would begin a new era of the sub 13 second average standards for competitive times, and many cubers in the community got more and more interested in an extension to Fridrich’s layer-by-layer method: the Zborowski method. The Zborowski method is a set of algorithms that is fundamentally based on Fridrich’s layer-by-layer approach but has many more algorithms (494 for last layer, and hundreds more for the first two layers). Zbigniew Zborowski proposed the method back in 2003 and admitted himself that it is too much information to process during a speedcubing solve. However, around this time many cubers were studying the Zborowski method to help decrease their solving itmes. (To see full results of this tournament, go here).
Unofficial (at home)
My fastest single solve: 9.5 seconds (sometime in 2007)
My fastest average of 10: 12.4 seconds (February 2006, and early 2007)
A video of me solving a cube (~17 seconds at a diner during a midnight snack)
Official (at a tournament)
My fastest single solve: 14.18 seconds (2007 Rubik’s World Championships)
My fastest average of 10: 15.62 seconds (2007 Rubik’s World Championships)
I first became fascinated by the Rubik’s Cube during my sophomore year of high school in 2002. I would cube in class, on the bus home, and even overnight. After reading websites and watching cubing videos I had the motivation to become a speedcuber. Since then I had the honor of traveling the world to meet the best speedcubers in history. Throughout my training I have been ranked among the fastest speedcubers in the world. I have been a finalist in a world championship tournament (2005), broke a world record (2006), and met the inventor of the cube himself, Ernö Rubik (2007).
1st round (single): 24.19 seconds (18th place)
Semi-final round (single): 23.96 seconds (23rd place)
Final round: Took the top 8 from semi-final round
I competed in the 2003 Rubik’s “Games” World Championships. I was a junior in high school, and I went with my father. The final round took the top 8 from the semi-final round. I brought a custom white cube t-shirt and had everyone sign the shirt, including the top 3 winners of the tournament. I got 2 signed cubes from Dan Knights and a few other cubes signed by Jessica Fridrich and learned some new tricks from many others. I learned a lot of cubing techniques from this tournament from the diverse schools of thought that all merged to this one venue. It was here I met all the legendary cubers and it was a great time. I was sponsored by a few companies which were advertised on the back of my custom made cube t-shirt. See images below.
1st round (single): 21.17 seconds (8th place)
Semi-final round (average): 19.82 seconds (5th place)
Final round (average): 20.88 seconds (3rd place)
My step brother Tony, dad and I drove to the 2004 Rubik’s USA Championships. I was an about-to-be-senior in the summer of 2004. The venue was Polytechnic High School (near Caltech) in Pasadena, California, USA. Jon Morris was announced USA champion for the 3×3x3 with an average time of 20.06 seconds. In the last round my average solving time was 20.88 seconds (2nd in USA, and 3rd overall). It was here that I had the chance to go to Macky’s house and hang out with other speedcubers. Macky’s mom was very nice, making us elaborate snacks. See images below.
1st round (single): 17.85 seconds (2nd place)
Semi-final round (average): 19.72 seconds (2nd place)
Final round (average): 19.72 seconds (2nd place)
The venue was Polytechnic High School near Caltech in Pasadena, California, USA. I averaged 19.72 seconds (2nd place), as Macky took first. It was here that Ryan Patricio approached me and asked me questions about speedcubing (he was a beginner at this time). He was a cool kid, so I gave him some advice. Little did I know he would win the 2006 USA Championships. At this tournament I hung out with Macky and learned a bit from him. See image below.
1st round (single): 18.64 seconds (26th place)
Semi-final round (average): 16.29 seconds (5th place)
Final round (average): 18.71 seconds (12th place)
The venue was the Disney Pop Century Resort, Disney World, Florida. I went with my dad and grandpa. I remember off stage I did a few 11’s and 12’s racing Ryan Patricio. The good thing about going to tournaments is to race people and improve. It was an honor just making it to the final round with the legends attending this tournament. See images below.
How many Rubik’s Cubes were solved: 3,141 (world record as of February 2006 - June 2006)
Time given to solve the Rubik’s Cubes: 24 hours
This took place at Caltech in February 2006, organized by Tyson Mao. I solved 3141 cubes in 24 hours and made the world record. I broke the legendary Jess Bonde’s record (of 2000) at the 12 hour mark. I believe solving 4000 cubes in 24 hours is possible. I held this record from February 2006 - June 2006. Zbigniew Zborowski was the first to break this record in June 2006. In the future I’m willing to make another attempt. I thank Mark Polinkovsky, Mark Sullivan, Daniel Lo, Shelley Chang, Leyan Lo, Michael White, Michael Inadomi, Eileen Xie, Christopher Kreuger, Matthew Wallisa, Adam Zamora, and Tyson Mao for scrambling and helping out. Additional thanks to Tyson Mao for organizing it, and thanks to Chris Hunt for the timer that was used for this event. See image below.
1st round (average): 17.12 seconds (4th place)
Final round (average): 17.33 seconds (2nd place)
This was the first major tournament in Italy. I took 2nd place behind Dan Harris, the United Kingdom champion. He significantly improved and I was happy for him. This took place in Rome in early June. I was in Italy for a physics study abroad program at the time, so getting to Rome was possible, though still difficult. To even get to this tournament I had to illegally jump a train, and slept out in the hallway to a hostel for a while where my friend Manny (old college roommate) was staying (he too was in Italy at the time). Then, getting back to my study abroad program, I almost got mugged at this train station… But it ended up fine. Whew, Europe is crazy. See image below.
1st round (average): 16.15 seconds (27th place)
Semi-final round (average): 15.62 seconds (20th place)
Final round (average): Took the top 16 from the semi-final round
I traveled to Budapest on my own on this one. I was sponsored by the Department of Physics at the University of Arizona (thanks to professor Johann Rafelski). I am glad to say I placed in the top twenty in the most intense tournament in Rubik’s history. It was here that my right wrist hurt insanely bad and I was unable to move my hand in comfort. But I forced myself and cubed the best I could. At midnight I tried to get some kind of medicine for my wrist at the gas station, but they told me to go to the pharmacy. I walked about a mile to a pharmacy and tried to explain what was going on with my wrist, but the lady only spoke Hungarian and didn’t help. Despite the pain in my wrist, I ended up doing my best solving average in the semi-final round here. I had lunch with Chris Hardwick in the mall with a few others, and we discussed the social dynamical changes of the speedcubing community. It began a new generation of very talented young people. Whenever you’re in Budapest, Hungary, notice how there are Rubik’s Cubes everywere (including McDonalds and tv commercials). I did meet Ernö Rubik and shook his hand. He seemed rude, however, in declining to sign my cube because I had my own initials on it (so whenever I lose my cube, people will know whose it is). See below for images.
The solutions below are only for the 3×3x3. If you are seeking a solution for the 2×2x2, then the solutions below will also work but just take heed of the corners and completely nevermind the middle edges and centers exist. For larger cubes such as 4×4x4 and 5×5x5, I would recommend Frank Morris’ or Chris Hardwick’s site. My specialty is in the 3×3x3 speedsolving. The 3×3x3 Rubik’s Cube puzzle has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 (little over 43 quintillion) different possible combinations, without repeating. At the rate of 1,000,000 configurations per second (without repeating), it would take well over a million years to run through them all. So in order to solve this cube consistently, you must have a system to solve it every time. (However simple the system may be). If you haven’t ever solved the cube before, don’t stress, as there are solutions below. Otherwise, trying to solve it randomly, you have a better probabilistic chance of winning the lottery than solving the cube.
Beginner Method
This method is intended for those who have no knowledge of solving the Rubik’s Cube whatsoever.
Intermediate Method
This method is intended for those who can already solve the cube (ideally in a minute or less). This should definitely get you down to 30 seconds or less.
Expert Method
This method is intended for those trying to get sub-20 averages. This alone has allowed me to achieve sub-13 averages.
Master Method
Under construction.
Since I have been well-known for solving the Rubik’s Cube fast, I have been invited to many “entertainment-related” events. These include the following:
I’d like to thank Jessica Fridrich, Chris Hardwick, Ron van Bruchem, Dan Knights, Shotaro “Macky” Makisumi, Katsuyuki Konishi (”Master Katsu),” Jon Morris, Frank Morris, Dan Harris, Lars Vandenbergh, Mirek Goljan, Lars Petrus, Doug Li, Andy Camann, Jess Bonde, David Wesley, Zbigniew Zborowski, Richard Patterson, Doug Reed, Tyson Mao, Leyan Lo and MANY others who have motivated me in reaching my fast times with the cube and to learn what I have so far about everything about speedcubing and life of a speedcuber. I recommend Speedcubing.com, the main speedcubing website of the world, for all links and further information. Have fun exploring! If you are a speedcuber, it is the next step to search around for algorithms that fit your hands nicely and to figure out different styles and techniques to implement in your speedsolving method.
The image of the Rubik’s Cube(r) is used by permission of Seven Towns Ltd.
May 27th, 2009 at 3:44 PM
Hello there guys, how are you today?
Well… let me write you a couple of lines.
I have a massive question for you. The thing is that, im very impressed guys with what you do. The other day at work my collegue did the cube in 5 min ( i know that is a very slow time for you) but i really want to get to do that. I consider myself a beginner but, the question is, where do you normally buy the professional cubes from? Normally, all sellers say that they have the best, but i think that only you know where to buy a good and smooth cube from.
Is there any chance that you could tell me if you have a good shop on the internet to buy it from?
Many thanks and thanks again to be there for all of us.
Daniel
XX
May 27th, 2009 at 11:54 PM
Daniel,
The DIY kits from Rubiks.com are usually pretty good. I buy mine from there. The cubes themselves get broken in by using them… That’s how they get smooth, etc.
I prefer the DIY kits and using silicon spray to make it smooth.
-Brent
August 26th, 2009 at 4:38 PM
I first managed to solve a rubik’s cube in fifth grade using a set of instructions that came with it. Since then, I’ve a few changes to the method (and managed to solve the cube in 40.44 seconds, my unofficial recored) but it’s still pretty much the same. I occasionally feel guilty about not having used my own intelligence to solve it. It is this same guilt that has kept me from learning rubik’s cube solving methods that would allow me to sovle it much faster. Do you suggest I continue trying to find my own method, or that I swallow my pride and learn one that someone else developed?
January 26th, 2010 at 4:47 PM
Very good.