The best record for solving a Rubik's cube. The fastest way to solve a Rubik's cube
Everyone knows such a puzzle as the Rubik's Cube. Many people tried to set the assembly record. But who succeeded? This is what we will talk about. But first things first.
Sculptor Ernő Rubik invented the famous puzzle in 1974, all this time it has been gaining popularity and has become the best-selling toy in the world. IN different parts light, Ernő’s invention is called differently, in most countries it is called the “Rubik’s Cube,” although the author initially called it the “Magic Cube.” This name is firmly attached to the toy in China, Germany and Portugal.
Varieties of Rubik's Cube
There are many varieties of Rubik's cube. Some of them differ in the number of cells in a face: in a standard puzzle, each of the six faces consists of 9 cells, but 2x2x2 cubes and, to a lesser extent, other types, for example 7x7x7, are also common. There is a known case of creating a cube with dimensions 17x17x17. Obviously, the more elements that form one face, the more difficult it is to assemble such a cube.
Some have completely different shapes, such as octahedron, dodecahedron and so on. It is worth noting that the so-called Moldavian pyramid, or Meffert’s pyramid, was invented earlier than the Rubik’s cube.
World record for assembling the “Magic Cube”
Everyone is well aware of the Rubik's Cube puzzle. They tried to set the assembly record in many countries around the world. Enthusiasts who solve Rubik's cubes against time are called speedcubers. Until 2014, official records were updated quite often, but breaking the best results becomes more difficult over time.
Today, the official world record is that the Rubik's Cube is solved in just five and a half seconds. This result was given by Mats Volk, displacing the one who completed the puzzle in 5.66 seconds.
It is worth noting that the ex-champion recorded a video in which he set a new assembly record. He solved the Rubik's cube in just 4.21 seconds, but this fact is not official, and some even dispute it this result. Another unofficial record is held by the robot CubeStormer-3, which was designed by two enthusiasts. As you can easily guess from the name of the robot, designers have already tried to create a mechanism that can assemble a puzzle faster than a human, but they succeeded only in March 2014. World record: CubeStormer-3 solved the Rubik's cube in 3.25 seconds, finally surpassing Felix Zemdegs.
Puzzle in the world
There are constantly many competitions related to this puzzle taking place around the world. Besides assembly various variations cube for a while, there are even competitions for solving a Rubik's cube blindfolded. Yes, few people can solve a Rubik's Cube even with their eyes open in less than a minute. The world record for blind assembly is 26 seconds! It belongs to Marshall Andrew, an enthusiast from Hungary.
Rubik's Cube in Russia
In Russia, this puzzle has also become widespread; almost every schoolchild knows the standard Rubik's cube. And the older generation knows the Rubik's cube. They tried to set a record for the assembly at competitions dedicated to this. The first serious competition related to the “Magic Cube” in our country took place at the beginning of 2009, since then open assembly championships have been periodically organized. It is worth noting that among the programs at all-Russian tournaments there are various types puzzles with edge sizes from two to seven.
Rubik's Cube: record for assembling in Russia
The most famous speedcuber in Russia is Sergey Ryabko. His fame was brought by his victory in many international competitions related to the famous puzzle. Sergei is also a two-time European champion in this type of activity. Ryabko began his professional career as a speedcuber in 2010. At this time, an open championship for assembling the “Magic Cube” was held in Moscow, dedicated to the thirtieth anniversary of the puzzle. At these competitions, Sergei became the winner in two categories. It is worth noting that at that time the speedcuber was only 15 years old.
That same year, Ryabko unseated the reigning European champion during the international championship in Budapest. The speedcuber became the European champion for the second time in 2012, taking the place of Michal Pleskovich from Poland.
Sergei has repeatedly won all-Russian competitions and was often invited by the organizers of similar tournaments abroad. This speedcuber can also solve some types of Rubik's cube blind.
In 2009, Ernő Rubik came up with another puzzle - the Rubik's sphere. Assembling this invention requires more complex hand movements, and the process is complicated by the fact that gravity must be taken into account to be successful.
Everyone knows such a toy as the Rubik's cube. The puzzle was invented by an architecture professor from Hungary and bears his name. Many people have tried to set a new record for solving a Rubik's cube against the clock, and some have succeeded. It is these individuals and their achievements that will be discussed in this article.
What is a Rubik's Cube?
Back in 1974, the Hungarian sculptor and inventor Erne Rubik created the first prototype of his famous idea. Since then, this puzzle has become increasingly popular in this moment is one of the most recognizable objects, receiving the name “Rubik’s cube”.
Initially, the creator gave this toy the name “magic cube”, but it did not become widespread and only gained a foothold in China, Germany and Portugal.
Types of cubes
Records for solving a Rubik's cube can be set both when using a classic 3 by 3 puzzle, and with other variations.
There are simplified options in size 2x2 and more complex ones - 7x7. There have been cases when a Rubik's cube with seventeen cells in length and width was produced. The latest models will be quite difficult to assemble, and it will take several times more effort and time. Variations of this puzzle with several faces, octahedron, dodecahedron and other shapes were also produced.
World record for Rubik's cube
Since this puzzle is quite popular all over the world, competitions for its assembly are constantly organized at best time. People who do high-speed solving of the Rubik's cube are often called “speedcubers.”
Until 2014, new records for assembling this toy for the best time were set quite often, but in Lately their number has significantly decreased, since each time it becomes more difficult to beat the best result.
Currently, the fastest record for a 3x3 Rubik's cube belongs to Felix Zemdegs (Australia), who beat Mats Volk by 0.01 seconds. There is a video of the current champion solving the cube in 4.21 seconds, but since this result was not officially recorded, he holds the record of 4.73 seconds, which was obtained at the 2016 POPS Open championship.
Felix also takes the lead in assembling the largest 7x7 cube. He completed it in 2 minutes and 15.07 seconds at the 2017 World Championships. Our compatriot Vladislav Shaveisky was able to take 5th place in this competitive discipline.
Another Rubik's cube record is held by a robotic machine called CubeStormer-3, designed by two inventors. As can be seen from the name of the robot, the creators already had experience in constructing similar devices, which, alas, failed to overtake the current champion. The latter option was able to beat Mats Volk and Felix Zemdegs and solve the Rubik's cube in just 3.25 seconds, beating both of them by almost 2 seconds.
There is also alternative view competitions in which Rubik's Cube records are set blindly. Not everyone is able to collect classic version with their eyes open, so it’s extremely difficult for speedcubers here. A Hungarian named Marshall Andrew was able to complete a cube in 26 seconds while blindfolded.
Rubik's cube record in Russia
IN Russian Federation This puzzle is most widespread; both schoolchildren and the older generation know it.
The first official championship for assembling this toy took place at the beginning of 2009, and since then open competitions have been held periodically. It should be noted that at Russian tournaments not only standard samples with a size of 3 by 3 are used, but also other variations, including those with a different number of edges.
The most popular Rubik's cube solver from Russia is Sergei Ryabko, who has won a number of competitions both in his country and internationally. He managed to become first at the European Championships twice. Sergei's best result was solving a classic 3 by 3 cube in 8.89 seconds.
He began his career in this field in 2010, when he was still 15 years old. Then, in his native Moscow, open competitions were held to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of this puzzle. He immediately managed to take first place in 2 categories. That same year he went to Budapest for the European Championships, where he also won. Later, in 2012, he went to the European Championship for the second time and displaced the former champion from Poland, Mikhail Pleskovich.
Sergei Ryabko became first in all-Russian championships more than once and was quite often invited to the international arena. He is capable of solving not only classic cubes (3x3), but also other types of puzzles, including blind ones.
At the last world championship in 2016, our speedcuber Dmitry Dobryakov managed to solve the classic Rubik's cube in 6.61 seconds, which is the best result among Russian representatives.
In 2009, the inventor came up with a new puzzle called the Rubik's sphere. It turned out to be much more complicated than the previous version and requires greater hand movements, as well as taking into account gravity.
For the first time, the popular mechanical puzzle called the Rubik's Cube (very often mistakenly called the Rubik's cube) became known in 1974, when the Hungarian sculptor Erne Rubik presented his creation to the world. In the original (classic) version, the puzzle consisted of three rows of multi-colored cubes, consisting of 24 elements with 54 color faces. For this reason the puzzle was called 3x3x3. All parts are made of plastic and can rotate around their axis.
Each visible side of such a cube consists of 9 faces of the same color, which in their initial state are chaotic. In the future, he needs to rotate the cube around the axes until all the colors on one side come together. The game is over when all 6 sides of the cube are composed of elements of the same color.
It is worth noting that today the Rubik's Cube is considered one of the most popular toys. Over the entire period from the moment of its creation, over 350 million such products were sold in the world.
It is important to note that later the Rubik's Cube received some improvements and variations. Today modifications are known from 2x2x2 (when you need to add only 2 faces on each side) to 17x17x17 (this is more of a computer puzzle). Toys in the form of trapezoids, pyramids, gigaminxes and other varieties are also produced. But the classic 3x3x3 version remains the most popular.
World records for Rubik's Cube 3x3x3
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Chronology of world records for Rubik's Cube 3x3x3 |
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| year 2013 | In 2013, Dutch teenager Mats Valk managed to set another speed record for solving the classic Rubik's Cube. At the moment when all sides of this mechanical puzzle were painted the same colors, the stopwatch recorded an unprecedented result - only 5.55 seconds. |
| 2015 | The record set by Mats Valk did not last very long. Already in April 2015, another teenager from America managed to surpass the world leader by completing the puzzle in a record 5.25 seconds. This left him with another record. |
| 2015 | But this achievement did not last long. Already in November 2015, a teenager from America, Lucas Etter, managed to set an updated world record by solving the classic version of the Rubik's Cube puzzle in a record 4.904 seconds. Moreover, he did it on the first try! At that time the teenager was only 14 years old. |
| 2016 | Already in November 2016, a student from Australia, 20-year-old Felix Zemdegs, managed to set another record for assembling everyone’s favorite classic version of the Rubik’s Cube. He managed to finish it in just 4.73 seconds. |
| 2017 | But all this turned out to be not the limit of perfection. Already in 2017, American teenager Patrick Pons needed only 4.69 seconds to completely solve the classic version of the Rubik's Cube. Thus, he becomes the next champion in solving this exciting problem. |
It is not surprising that the appearance of this puzzle and huge amount Such toys in the hands of teenagers provoked an unprecedented excitement and gave impetus to competitions between them. Initially (at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries), such competitions had a relatively formal format. But with the advent global network, when the opportunity arose in fact live record your results and share them with other cubers, working with this puzzle has significantly accelerated. Even informally, a time limit was set for a real super champion - namely, he must solve the classic version of the Rubik's Cube in a time interval not exceeding 10 seconds.
This milestone was first surpassed in May 2007 by the Frenchman Thibaut Jacqulineau. During the assembly, he managed to complete the task in a record time - it took only 9.86 seconds for all the edges of the puzzle to be painted the same colors. It is important to note that this record did not last long. He was beaten twice in 2007 and 2008, and later almost sensational moments began to arise in cubing. Thus, already in July 2008, Erik Akkersdijk established the then phenomenal speed of assembling a magic cube in the classic version - to complete full cycle It took the cuber only 7.08 seconds to assemble. What an unprecedented result at that time. True, this record did not last long. They managed to surpass it already in 2010 with a new result of 6.77 seconds. And this is not the limit either.
Of course, 3x3x3 is the most commonly used puzzle variant in competitions, but other variants are also beginning to gradually develop today. Already today, records are officially being recorded in the categories of high-speed puzzle assembly with parameters 2x2x2, 4x4x4, puzzles 5x5x5, as well as 6x6x6, and with them 7x7x7 are gaining momentum. At the same time, computer development does not stand aside, when the assembly of puzzles is entrusted to “artificial” intelligence.
To understand what stage the competitive process is at today, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with several officially recorded records to date.
Rubik's Cube records 2x2x2
- In January 2014, the unsurpassed Australian cuber Felix Zembegs was able to please his fans with another unprecedented result in the speed of solving the Rubik's Cube - he managed to correctly set the colors on all its sides in just 0.88 seconds.
- Another quite impressive record for the speed of solving a Rubik's Cube with 2x2x2 parameters at the world championship in September 2015 was set by Lukas Etter, which took place in Nashville. It took him only 1.51 seconds to do this.
- In 2016, a new world record for solving a 2x2x2 Rubik's Cube was achieved by Pole Maciej Czapiewski, who needed only 0.49 seconds to align all the faces!
Rubik's Cube records 4x4x4
- In 2014, the fastest time to solve a 4x4x4 Rubik's Cube was recorded by German cuber Sebastian Weyer, who took just 21.97 seconds, a record at that time.
- Later, already in 2015, 19-year-old Australian Felix Zembegs, at a competition held in China, managed to solve a 4x4x4 Rubik's Cube in just 4.9 seconds.
Felix Zemdegs set the world record for solving a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube with two hands in one attempt by a person
People have long lost hope of competing with robots in the speed of solving a Rubik's cube. Thus, the absolute record among robots is 0.38 seconds, and robotic designers also boasted that they deliberately paused between movements to reduce the risk of breaking the cube.
Against this background, people’s achievements look faded, but no one is thinking of canceling the championships. After all, there are championships in checkers, chess, go, poker and other games where the computer has surpassed humans. People compete with each other and demonstrate the amazing abilities of the human mind. Not as fast as computer program, but the brain of homo sapiens is also capable of calculating options and making decisions with tremendous speed.
Another proof of this is a new record for solving a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube. The world record now stands at 4.221 seconds - and it again belongs to a 22-year-old Australian named Feliks Zemdegs, who has set records before and was also a multiple world champion.
According to the Australian press, Felix bought his first Rubik's cube in 2008 at the age of 12, inspired by speed cube solving videos he found on YouTube. An hour later he collected it.
A month later, the guy was already able to solve the puzzle in half a minute. Less than two years later, the boy won the Melbourne Cube Day 2010 championship with a world record.
In an interview Huffington Post after winning the second world championship in solving the Rubik's Cube, he said that this trick is available to everyone, it only requires practice and patience. Almost all participants in such championships learned how to solve a Rubik's cube using manuals from the Internet or on YouTube: “It just takes a little practice and patience. But once you understand the solution, everything becomes very formulaic. You understand that for the first stage you need to make such movements, then move on to next stage and solve this part. This is kind of a beginner's method. And then, as you learn more and practice, you start to put it together more intuitively.”
“I'm always very impressed by people who have figured out a solution themselves, and I think it's incredibly difficult,” says the record holder. “I couldn’t even imagine this - it’s one of the most impressive things.”
According to the table of records, this is already the eighth record of Felix Zemdegs. He installed the very first one in 2010 (7.03 seconds). Then, over the course of two years, he improved his own achievement five times, and then the palm passed to another athlete. Finally, Felix regained his record in 2016 (4.73 seconds), then lost again, and now he has again improved the world record by 37 hundredths of a second.
Felix has one piece of advice for those who want to find a way to solve a Rubik's Cube on their own. He recommends imagining 54 colored cube squares not stickers, but fragments.
The champion also refuses to admit that he is more gifted than other competitors. He doesn’t agree that he has any talent: “Literally anyone can learn this. Obviously, to achieve a high score you need some pattern recognition abilities, spatial reasoning, and finger dexterity. I'm not sure it necessarily correlates with general intelligence, but it definitely requires spatial reasoning. And to achieve high speed, it really just takes a lot of practice and determination.”
By the way, Felix holds several other current world records in other disciplines: the record for the average of five attempts, excluding the slowest and fastest (5.99, 5.28, 5.25, 6.13 and 9.19, average 5. 80 s), as well as the world record for assembly with one hand (6.88 s, set in 2015, at