Record for solving a Rubik's cube 11x11. The fastest way to solve a Rubik's cube

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 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 since its creation, over 350 million of these products have been sold worldwide.

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 it remains the most popular classic version 3x3x3.

World records for Rubik's Cube 3x3x3

Chronology of world records for Rubik's Cube 3x3x3
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 a huge number of 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 of the global network, when the opportunity arose to actually 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 phenomenal speed of assembling the magic cube in the classic version at that time - it took the cuber only 7.08 seconds to complete the full assembly cycle. 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 a then-record 21.97 seconds.
• Later, already in 2015, 19-year-old Australian Felix Zembegs, at a competition that took place in China, managed to solve a 4x4x4 Rubik's Cube in just 4.9 seconds.

Ben Katz/YouTube

Robotics expert Ben Katz and software developer Jared Di Carlo have created a robot that can solve a Rubik's cube in 0.38 seconds. This is a record time, says Di Carlo in his blog, although at the moment it has not been officially confirmed.

The Rubik's Cube was invented back in 1974, but the puzzle is still very popular. People who are interested in solving Rubik's cubes at high speed are called speedcubers, and the process itself is called speedcubing. Today's record belongs to the American Lucas Etter, who in November 2015 collected puzzle in 4.904 seconds. Similar competitions are also held among robots: until now, the robot of engineers from the company Infeon was considered the unofficial “champion”. In 2016, he solved a Rubik's cube in 0.637 seconds. However, now Katz and Di Carlo have developed a robot that improved the previous record holder's result by 40 percent.

Like all such devices, the researchers' robot uses a camera (in this case a PlayStation Eye) that transmits images of the sides of a Rubik's cube to a computer. It determines the arrangement of the puzzle pieces and then passes the data to the min2phase program, which is based on Herbert Kotzemba's two-phase algorithm. The computer calculates in a split second optimal solution tasks, after which he gives a command to the robot, and it moves all the elements as needed.

To speed up the process, Katz used Kollmorgen ServoDisk motors, which have very high attitude torque to moment of inertia. In addition, the engineer built a special controller that allows you to rotate the side of a Rubik's cube 90 degrees in just 10 milliseconds. Provided that the puzzle can be completed in, on average, 19-23 moves, Katz and Di Carlo's robot should solve the problem in 0.25 seconds. However, in reality the process takes 0.38 seconds, since the machine currently makes one movement every 15 milliseconds.

The developers are confident that in the future they will be able to improve their results. Currently, the setup process is time-consuming because debugging must be done using a high-speed camera, and errors sometimes lead to the puzzle breaking or the field-effect transistors exploding. However, a hundred different solutions required only 4 Rubik's cubes. The video below shows one of unsuccessful attempts puzzle assembly:

Recently, programmer Martin Spanel developed software, which allows you to solve a Rubik's cube using augmented reality glasses. In real time it displays required action using an AR headset directly on top of one of the faces of the cube.

Kristina Ulasovich

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. In addition to assembling various variations of the cube against the clock, there are even competitions for solving the Rubik's cube blindfolded. Yes, few can even with with open eyes Solve a Rubik's Cube 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 of 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 to him 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. During assembly of this invention, more complex movements hands, and the process is complicated by the fact that for success you need to take gravity into account.

Speedcubers, who are they? A speedcuber is a person who solves a Rubik's cube at speed. And in fact, anyone who times themselves while solving a Rubik's cube is a speedcuber. And even if his result is 40 minutes, this person is still a speedcuber.

However, any novice speedcuber is able to assemble this puzzle in less time. But what are real pros capable of in this matter? Do you know anything about them?

The first world record was set by 16-year-old Vietnamese-American student Minh Thai, who was able to solve the puzzle in 22.95 seconds. This happened at the world's first speedcubing championship - World Rubik's Cube Championship 1982. This is especially impressive considering that the record was not set on a modern speed cube with magnets, but on one of the first versions of the Rubik's cube, which had a very mediocre torsion.

After this there was a lull. Not because there were no tournaments, but because there was no organization that could organize the results of all participants.

In 2004, this place was taken by the WCA - World Cube Association. From that moment on, the results of all participants are saved in the database.

Since those distant times, records have been updated more than once. The rules and dice have changed, new disciplines have been added, and, of course, new record holders have appeared.

The best in the business

One of the best speedcubers of this decade, the record holder among record holders is Felix Zemdegs. This young Australian has already set 117 world records and holds the current world record in the 3x3x3 cube - 4.22 seconds for a single attempt and 5.8 seconds for the average of five solves, in 4x4 and 5x5 cubes, in solving a Rubik's cube with one hand.

His results are impressive, although he started out like all speedcubers. In 2008, when he was 12 years old, he became interested in speedcubing and began training. By January 2010, he was the first in the world to solve a Rubik's cube in less than 10 seconds. Since then he has won everything and won competitions. And at the age of 17, at the World Championships, Felix proved that he was the best speedcuber in the world.

It may seem that Felix Zemdegs does not meet competition at tournaments, but this is by no means the case. It has many competitors from different countries.

One of its main competitors is Max Park. The American athlete already holds 12 world records. Of course, after Felix's results, this is not all that impressive, but if you dig deeper, each of them is amazing.

What is his record for the average time of five solving a Rubik's cube with one hand? He was the first in the world to do this in less than 10 seconds. He also holds records in solving 6x6 and 7x7 cubes, both in a single assembly and in the average time of five assemblies, as well as in the average time on a 4x4 cube.

And the next record holder is known not only for his records - Mats Falk (this is how his last name is read in Dutch). His name began to be mentioned many times more often after he signed a contract with QiYi MoFangGe, one of the world's main brands. Their flagship model was named after him, you all know everything about this cube - it is now one of the best.

Mats was able to set 5 world records. But the most offensive situation happened to him at the Jawa Timur Open 2016. It was there that he set a world record of 4.74 seconds, but not for long. A little later, at the same competition, Felix Zemdegs cleared 4.73 and broke Mats' record.

And Max Park took all the records from Kevin Hayes, not only world ones, but also national ones, because they are both from the USA. But still, Kevin was the first person in the world who was able to solve a 7x7 cube in less than 2 minutes, and he was already able to set 20 world records.

Moreover, the Yuxin company cooperates with the American. They want to name a 7x7 cube after him, and maybe even a whole series of large cubes. And since Yuxin knows how to make quick and high-quality puzzles, the series will undoubtedly turn out great.

It may seem that all the best speedcubers are abroad, but this is not the case. There are many worthy speedcubers in our country.

For example, Dmitry Dobryakov. It is he who holds the Russian record for solving a Rubik's cube both in a single attempt and in average time. And it is he who will represent Russia at the Red Bull Rubik's Cube World Championship in Boston.

And in due time the whole world learned the name of Vladislav Shavelsky, who set two world records in such a discipline as solving a 7x7x7 cube. He also set 13 European records and 27 Russian records in disciplines from 4x4x4 to 7x7x7. He still holds the Russian records for assembling 5x5x5 and 7x7x7 cubes.

Or Roman Strakhov, who has repeatedly set world and European records for solving a 5x5x5 Rubik's cube blindly. He is now ranked third in the world in this discipline.

Russian speedcubing also knows the name of Dmitry Kryuzban, who set 60 Russian records and even a European record.

Every year we discover new names and faces that bring Russian speedcubing to the world level. Some of them are close to national records or have already achieved them: Alexey Zharikov, Artem Ganzha, Andrey Che and many others.

How to reach a professional level in speedcubing?

But how to achieve such results? Is it even possible to catch up with such speedcubing mastodons? And how to do this?

Of course, such results are achieved after many years training. But everyone has different abilities and approaches to training, so there is no universal method.

There are a lot different ways assemblies: Jessica Friedrich method, Roux method, ZZ and many others. Try different formulas, training methods and you will find the one that suits you.

And no matter how many formulas you know, don’t stop. Each new formula improves your skills.

But no matter what method you use, you definitely need to study the Look ahead technique, literally “look ahead.” The point is to think through all your moves in advance.

To train it, you need to use a type of training called slow turn, that is, specifically collect the cube slowly and see all the movements of the elements.