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Rubik’s Cube skills earn student world ranking
March 23, 2007
The Rubik’s Cube clicks and clacks as senior Chris Hunt deftly twists and turns the three-dimensional puzzle. After just 17 seconds, he’s nimbly solved the cube and each face displays a single, solid color.
According to the World Cubing Association’s Web site, Hunt is currently ranked 75th in the world in “speedcubing,” which refers to solving the puzzle as quickly as possible, and 60th in the world for solving the puzzle while blindfolded. Hunt regularly competes in tournaments around the United States, most recently at a competition in Boise, Idaho on March 17.
At the Boise tournament, Hunt competed against 20 other cube enthusiasts. In speedcubing, contestants are given 15 seconds to inspect the cube before the timer starts. Hunt’s fastest time was clocked at 15.6 seconds to solve a 3x3x3 cube, but his world ranking is based on the average of five solves at the competition, which for Hunt was 17.75 seconds.
As of today, the top world time for a single solve of a 3x3x3 cube is 10.36 seconds, and the top average solve time is 11.76 seconds, according to the WCA’s Web site.
A computer science major and math minor, Hunt said his prowess with the cube developed through an “insane amount of practice time.” His cube is constantly with him, and he regularly manipulates it while walking to class or hanging out at home. He’s even got his roommates hooked on cubing.
“It’s really easy to be good at,” Hunt said. “I’m pretty sure anyone can do it.”
When Hunt received his first Rubik’s Cube for Christmas in 2003, he couldn’t solve the puzzle without help from the Internet, he said. He scoured the Web for solving techniques, finding one and practicing it daily throughout the holiday break. By the time he returned to school, it took him about eight minutes to solve the puzzle, an impressive feat, he thought.
“I was super excited,” Hunt said. “Then I went online and found out lots of people could do it faster than me.”
At that time, the world record sat at around 20 seconds, and Hunt thought to himself, “I’ve gotta find out how they’re doing it.” He joined a Yahoo speedcubing group and asked the members for tips. It was through this network that he learned of the Fridrich Method, the most commonly used technique in speedcubing, he said.
Developed by Jessica Fridrich, the method solves the cube in a layer-by-layer process. Hunt said he typically begins by solving the blue face of the cube, solving the two bottom layers next, and finally uses a series of algorithms to solve the top layer.
“For the top layer, I recognize patterns and solve based on the patterns I see,” Hunt explained.
“It’s really addicting, especially because you make huge progress so quickly in the beginning.”
Hunt primarily uses the Fridrich Method, but he’s also learned a few other techniques, he said. He’s currently working on a memorization technique that should make it easier for him to solve the cube quickly, especially when blindfolded.
Hunt’s blindfolded time stands at 5 minutes, 40.36 seconds, which he clocked at the World Championships in 2005. The time includes the minutes he spends studying the cube and memorizing all the moves he has to make to solve it, and the actual time he spends solving the puzzle, he said. The world record for blindfolded solving is currently 1:20.30.
The Rubik’s Cube initially entered the pop culture scene in the mid-1970s and faded from prominence after about a decade. The first World Rubik’s Cube Championship was held in 1982 in Budapest, Hungary, the birthplace of the cube.
The cube and speedcubing contests regained popularity in 2003, when a new generation held the first tournament in over a decade at Cal Tech. While Hunt said his hobby isn’t particularly popular in the Northwest, it’s all the rage in California, the Northeast and throughout Europe and Asia.
Hunt hopes to compete at a tournament this May in San Diego, and also plans to attend the 2007 World Rubik’s Cube Championship in Budapest, Hungary this October.
To learn more about speedcubing, visit the World Cubing Association’s Web site at www.worldcubeassociation.org. For more history about the Rubik’s Cube, visit www.rubiks.com.
Hunt also maintains a site that includes videos of speedcubing. View it at http://strangepuzzle.com.
At the Boise tournament, Hunt competed against 20 other cube enthusiasts. In speedcubing, contestants are given 15 seconds to inspect the cube before the timer starts. Hunt’s fastest time was clocked at 15.6 seconds to solve a 3x3x3 cube, but his world ranking is based on the average of five solves at the competition, which for Hunt was 17.75 seconds.
As of today, the top world time for a single solve of a 3x3x3 cube is 10.36 seconds, and the top average solve time is 11.76 seconds, according to the WCA’s Web site.
A computer science major and math minor, Hunt said his prowess with the cube developed through an “insane amount of practice time.” His cube is constantly with him, and he regularly manipulates it while walking to class or hanging out at home. He’s even got his roommates hooked on cubing.
“It’s really easy to be good at,” Hunt said. “I’m pretty sure anyone can do it.”
When Hunt received his first Rubik’s Cube for Christmas in 2003, he couldn’t solve the puzzle without help from the Internet, he said. He scoured the Web for solving techniques, finding one and practicing it daily throughout the holiday break. By the time he returned to school, it took him about eight minutes to solve the puzzle, an impressive feat, he thought.
“I was super excited,” Hunt said. “Then I went online and found out lots of people could do it faster than me.”
At that time, the world record sat at around 20 seconds, and Hunt thought to himself, “I’ve gotta find out how they’re doing it.” He joined a Yahoo speedcubing group and asked the members for tips. It was through this network that he learned of the Fridrich Method, the most commonly used technique in speedcubing, he said.
Developed by Jessica Fridrich, the method solves the cube in a layer-by-layer process. Hunt said he typically begins by solving the blue face of the cube, solving the two bottom layers next, and finally uses a series of algorithms to solve the top layer.
“For the top layer, I recognize patterns and solve based on the patterns I see,” Hunt explained.
“It’s really addicting, especially because you make huge progress so quickly in the beginning.”
Hunt primarily uses the Fridrich Method, but he’s also learned a few other techniques, he said. He’s currently working on a memorization technique that should make it easier for him to solve the cube quickly, especially when blindfolded.
Hunt’s blindfolded time stands at 5 minutes, 40.36 seconds, which he clocked at the World Championships in 2005. The time includes the minutes he spends studying the cube and memorizing all the moves he has to make to solve it, and the actual time he spends solving the puzzle, he said. The world record for blindfolded solving is currently 1:20.30.
The Rubik’s Cube initially entered the pop culture scene in the mid-1970s and faded from prominence after about a decade. The first World Rubik’s Cube Championship was held in 1982 in Budapest, Hungary, the birthplace of the cube.
The cube and speedcubing contests regained popularity in 2003, when a new generation held the first tournament in over a decade at Cal Tech. While Hunt said his hobby isn’t particularly popular in the Northwest, it’s all the rage in California, the Northeast and throughout Europe and Asia.
Hunt hopes to compete at a tournament this May in San Diego, and also plans to attend the 2007 World Rubik’s Cube Championship in Budapest, Hungary this October.
To learn more about speedcubing, visit the World Cubing Association’s Web site at www.worldcubeassociation.org. For more history about the Rubik’s Cube, visit www.rubiks.com.
Hunt also maintains a site that includes videos of speedcubing. View it at http://strangepuzzle.com.