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 at the 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. Latest models It 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 an alternative type of competition 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 completely solve 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 Russian tournaments involve not only standard samples with a size of 3 by 3, 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 in international level. 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 dedicated to the thirtieth anniversary of this puzzle. He immediately managed to take first place in 2 categories. The same year he went to Budapest for the European Championships, where he also became a winner. 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 large movements hands, as well as taking into account gravity.

American schoolboy Colin Burns managed to set a new record for solving the famous Rubik's cube. The new achievement is 5.25 seconds. The teenager did everything faster than the previous record holder by 0.30 seconds. It is difficult to imagine that such a speed of assembling a puzzle is generally possible, but practice shows that people sometimes do what few people expect from them.

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It should be noted that the Rubik's cube is already 40 years old and during this time a huge number of records have been set with its use. In addition, this puzzle is recognized as one of the most successful of those that have been created in the entire history of mankind. The Rubik's cube allows you to develop spatial thinking and fine motor skills, and is also ideal for people of any gender and age.

If you want to test yourself, you can purchase such a puzzle at any toy store, especially since now numerous variations of it have appeared on the market, some of which provide for certain complications of the task. However, first, it is recommended to practice on the standard version of the puzzle, because even mastering it is not as easy as it seems at first glance.

Colin's record was recorded during the competition for the prizes of the World Cube Association, which took place in the town of Doylestown (Pennsylvania, America). Very soon, these data will be officially confirmed, after which the record will appear on the pages of the next edition of the Guinness Book of Records, along with hundreds of other new and no less interesting achievements.

It is important to note that records for solving a Rubik's cube are constantly being set, and the previous one was officially certified in 2013. Considering the interest in this puzzle and the number of people doing something similar on an ongoing basis, then there is a high probability that the next achievement will not be long in coming. In the meantime, Colin Burns can rightfully be considered the person who can solve a Rubik's cube faster than anyone else on this planet.

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 the classic 3x3x3 version remains the most popular.

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 fascinating 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 it became possible to actually record your results live and share them with other cubers, work with this puzzle has accelerated significantly. 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 overcome 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 The cuber took 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 most fast time solving the Rubik's Cube 4x4x4 was recorded by the German cuber Sebastian Weyer, who needed only 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.

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 best results it 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 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 person, but they only succeeded in March 2014. World record: CubeStormer-3 solved the Rubik's cube in 3.25 seconds, finally beating 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 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 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. 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.