If you want to become a speedcuber, you need to use efficient methods that will allow you to solve a cube faster. That means learning more algorithms and implementing them in your solves.
First, you’ll need to master a few basic algorithms. These include the cross, F2L, and OLL.
1. Practice
If you’re interested in improving your speedcubing skills, it’s critical to practice regularly. This will help you learn the algorithms and intuitive concepts that will make your solving faster.
Elite cubers are constantly on the lookout for new techniques and efficient F2L solutions, drilling their existing algorithm repertoire, and simulating competitions. They also combine deliberate, slow-paced practice with long periods of repetitive solving to maximize their learning.
When it comes to practicing, you want to focus on building your lookahead so that you can perform each algorithm quickly without losing track of the puzzle. This takes time, but it’s crucial for reducing stress and improving your speedcubing abilities.
A great way to improve your lookahead is by watching videos of fast cubers. Try to imitate their solves as much as possible.
2. Observe
The ability to solve a Rubik’s cube quickly is an art, science, and sport. It’s known as speedcubing and requires a combination of extraordinary digital dexterity and the ability to apply hundreds of algorithms in seconds.
One of the most important skills for speedcubing is the ability to break down a problem into its many parts and focus on them individually. It’s a talent that can be applied to many other areas of life, including math and learning new languages.
Another skill that advanced speedcubers use is to prioritize matching together a pair of corner and edge pieces. This reflects a strategy that they learned from watching other speedcubers.
These strategies can be used to reduce the number of possible solutions for a Rubik’s cube by identifying cases that have symmetry and then matching them. This is an effective technique because it allows the solver to use conjugations, which are the mathematical relationships between two different shapes.
3. Observe the Solution
Speedcubers use their intuition to solve a Rubik’s cube as quickly as possible. This is done through a series of Rubik’s cube algorithms, and it is important to practice and learn them all.
One of the most popular methods is the Fridrich method. This method divides the cube into four layers, which are solved individually. It takes fewer rotations than other techniques, but it’s not suitable for first-time solvers.
Another method is the layer-by-layer method. It works by solving each layer separately, but it can be difficult to get fast times with this approach.
This method isn’t the fastest, so it’s best to practice it as much as possible before attempting to compete.
The solution to the Rubik’s cube problem isn’t a hard problem to solve, and anyone can improve their time with practice. But if you’re serious about trying to break world records or compete at official events, it’s worth investing in learning the patterns and algorithms that are applicable to the puzzle.
4. Practice Again
One of the most important things a speedcuber needs to do is practice. You can know all the algorithms and understand all the concepts, but if you don’t practice it all, it’s not going to stick in your mind.
Practicing is essential to learning and getting faster at solving the cube. It can take a long time for a beginner to become fast, so it’s best to start with a basic method that doesn’t require a lot of algorithms and then work your way up from there.
The most popular and efficient method is CFOP (cross, first 2 layers, orientation, permutation), which is the technique used by all 3×3 world record holders in the last decade. This is a good place to start for most speedcubers. It will give you a solid foundation for moving on to the more advanced methods.