Speedcubing is referred to as speedsolving and involves solving a variety of Rubik’s cube puzzles as quickly as possible. Speedcuber perform a series or a sequence of moves to solve the puzzle such that every side of the cube has the same colour.
Even though the 3x3x3 cube is the most popular Rubik’s cube among speedcuber, some events specially cater to other cubes like the 2x2x2, 4x4x4, 5x5x5, 6x6x6 and 7x7x7, etc. Certain events may also aim at solving these cubes single-handedly or while being blindfolded.
If you are newly setting foot in speedcubing, you should make the most of this pandemic and learn new tricks to become a speedcuber!
Invest in a quality Rubik’s Cube
A cuber’s most important asset is the Rubik’s cube, or the speedcube he/she uses. A quality speedcube will move with ease and give you great control over the moves you make. Specially designed speedcubes have perfectly aligned layers and turns smoothly with little force. You can opt for cubes like Moyu, YJ, Dayan, Shengshou, GAN, etc. These cubes are specially designed for speedcubing. So, while you are stuck indoors in this pandemic, invest your time to research and find the best speedcube that will fit your needs.
Where can you compete?
Speedcubers train all year round to improve their skills to be as effective as possible while completing the Rubik’s cube. Cubers from all over the world come together to compete at the WCA (World Cubing Association). This is a bi-annual competition and is organized to find the best speedcuber in the world.
Red Bull Rubik’s Cube World Cup was introduced in 2018 which was a new competition. This new competition had challenged even the most advanced cubers by introducing innovative events for both individual players and teams.
However, since the pandemic has hit, all these competitions are being hosted online. This can be a great opportunity to connect with other speedcubers in the community.
How can you become a speed solver?
For most cubers, learning how to solve the Rubik’s cube can take anywhere between 5 to 10 minutes to successfully finish solving. With practice, your solve time can be reduced to less than 5 minutes. When you practice, it is important that you focus on learning algorithms and patterns that fall in a sequence to solve the puzzle rather than concentrating on hand speed.
Once you are easily able to solve the cube in less than 2 minutes, you should learn new solving methods and techniques to further improve your solve time. If you don’t invest time to learn new tricks, you would realize that your solve time would ideally begin to stagnate. Therefore, you should learn pattern recognition and other advanced techniques to keep improving your solve time continuously.
Constant practice is the most important strategy to get better at speedsolving.
Even though some cubers can complete a cube in 1 minute, they are not considered speedcubers. Only those cubers who can complete a solve in 25 to 30 seconds consistently are called speedcubers.
The secret to becoming a speedcuber
Invest your time during this pandemic on constantly practising your Rubik’s cube. With daily practice and learning, you can improve your solving time. By adding extra dedication and hard work, you could also soon be competing at official online cubing events.
If you want to improve your chances of breaking world records at these official cubing events, then you should focus on learning different strategies, practice regularly and join various online forums to network with other players.
Most importantly, you need to be patient until your skills improve. So work hard on your cubing tricks this pandemic and be a part of as many online cubing events as possible! Happy cubing!