Speedcubing
Speedcubing or Speedsolving is a competitive mind sport centered around the rapid solving of various combination puzzles. The most prominent puzzle in this category is the 3x3x3 puzzle, commonly known as the Rubik's Cube. Participants in this sport are called "speedcubers", who focus specifically on solving these puzzles at high speeds to get low clock times and/or fewest moves. The essential aspect of solving these puzzles typically involves executing a series of predefined algorithms in a particular sequence with pattern recognition and finger tricks.
Competitive speedcubing is predominantly overseen by the World Cube Association, which officially recognizes 17 distinct speedcubing events. These events encompass a range of puzzles, including NxNxN puzzles of sizes varying from 2x2x2 to 7x7x7, and other puzzle forms such as the Pyraminx, Megaminx, Skewb, Square-1, and Rubik's Clock. Additionally, specialized formats such as 3x3, 4x4, and 5x5 blindfolded, 3x3 one-handed, 3x3 Fewest Moves, and 3x3 multi-blind are also regulated and hosted in competitions.
As of January 2026, the world record for the fastest single solve of a Rubik's cube in a competitive setting stands at 3.05 seconds. This record was achieved by Xuanyi Geng at the Shenyang Spring 2025 WCA competition event on April 13, 2025. Xuanyi Geng set the record for the average time of five solves in the 3x3x3 category at 3.84 seconds at Beijing Winter 2026 on January 10-11, 2025. Speedcubing is organized by numerous countries that hold international competitions throughout the year. The widespread popularity of the Rubik's Cube has led to an abundance of online resources, including guides and techniques, aimed at assisting individuals in solving the puzzle.
History
The Rubik's Cube was invented on May 19, 1974, by Hungarian professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. In 1979, Rubik partnered with Ideal Toy Company to garner widespread international interest in the cube. On June 5, 1982, the first world championship of speedcubing was held in Budapest, Hungary. Nineteen people competed in the event, and the American Minh Thai won with a single solve time of 22.95 seconds, which was, at the time, the fastest Rubik's Cube solve ever recorded. Other attendees include Jessica Fridrich and Lars Petrus, both of whom later contributed to the development of new solving methods and the speedcubing community. The Rubik's Cube waned in popularity after 1983, as there were no official competitions held, but with the advent of the Internet, online websites began to surface to discuss the cube. With these websites facilitating the renewed popularity of the cube, a new generation of speedcubers arose.Those prominent in the online speedsolving community, such as Ron van Bruchem, Tyson Mao, Chris Hardwick, and Ton Dennenbroek, eventually wanted to create an organization where cubers from around the world could meet and compete against each other. In 2003, they organized a championship in Toronto, Ontario, followed by another competition in the Netherlands later that same year. This revival of competition sparked a new wave of organized speedcubing events, which included regular national and international competitions. There were twelve competitions in 2004, 58 more from 2005 to 2006, over 100 in 2008, and over 1150 in 2018. Since Budapest's 1982 competition, there have been nine further World Championships traditionally held every other year. This new wave of speedcubing competitions has been and still is organized by the World Cube Association.
Since the rise of speedcubing's popularity, numerous entrepreneurial ventures have been founded specializing in making or selling speedcubes, creating competition between these brands and Rubik's. Dozens of cube manufacturers, such as GANCUBE, MoYu, YJ, QiYi, DaYan, DianSheng, ShengShou, YuXin, and Vin Cube have begun improving the cube's technology by creating many different speedcubes to allow for smoother turning and faster solving. This has helped to facilitate the eventual rise of the Rubik's Cube as not just a toy, but also a lucrative business.
World Cube Association
The World Cube Association is a non-profit organization which organizes speedcubing competitions and ratifies results. The WCA consists of the WCA Board, WCA Committee, and the WCA Council. The WCA Board is the head or leader of the entire WCA, and is responsible for fulfilling tasks not completed or done by the WCA Committee and WCA Council. The WCA Appeals Committee is responsible for ensuring right and fair decisions in accordance with the WCA Regulations. The WCA Committee is also responsible for reviewing and resolving appeals regarding the decisions of other WCA Staff members. The WCA Council is a special type of team that serves as an advisory role to the WCA, and consists of community members, and not WCA Staff Members. These WCA Staff Members are part of a cubing community, which consist of organizers, who organize and manage cubing competitions, and delegates, who help in managing competitions and help competitors who are unfamiliar with the competition environment, and to decide whether a competitor's solve should be penalized or not. WCA Regulations are required to be followed by competitors and can be found on the official WCA website.Methods
3x3x3
The standard 3x3x3 can be solved using several methods. The most commonly used methods for speedcubing are CFOP, Roux, and ZZ, which are generally considered to achieve the fastest times. The CFOP method is used by the majority of cubers and employs a layer-by-layer system with numerous algorithms for solving the final layer. The method starts by creating a cross on any side of the cube, followed by F2L where 4 corner edge pairs are inserted into the cross, followed by OLL where the top side is solved in 1 of 57 algorithms, and finally PLL where you do 1 of 21 algorithms to solve the rest of the cube. Roux, the second most popular method, which starts by forming a 3x2x1 block on both sides of the cube and solves the middle layer last, using fewer algorithms. ZZ uses a unique step called Edge Orientation to improve the ergonomics of turning by removing the amount of rotations during a solve. Another notable method is Petrus, which has been popular at times in the past; however, it is now considered sub-optimal to CFOP and Roux and was abandoned due to its unfavorable finger tricks.Solving larger cubes, such as 4x4x4 and 5x5x5, is most often done by reducing them to 3x3x3 and solving them like so, while 2x2x2 can be solved with the same or similar methods as 3x3x3. However, specialized 2x2x2 methods are quicker, and are regarded as superior to 3x3x3 methods. These methods include Ortega, CLL, and the EG method.
CFOP
The CFOP method, also known as the Fridrich method after one of its inventors, Jessica Fridrich, who finished second in the 2003 Rubik's Cube World Championships, is the most commonly used method in speedcubing today. Its origins are credited to David Singmaster, who was one of the first to publish a layer-by-layer method of solving in 1980, and Guus Razoux Schultz, who built upon this and developed a more efficient system for the first two layers. Jessica Fridrich then finished developing the method and published it online in 1997, an event that was very influential in the revival of competitive speedcubing. The first step of the method is to solve a cross of edge pieces on the first layer. The remainder of the first layer and all of the second layer are then solved together in what is referred to as "corner-edge pairs," or slots. Finally, the last layer is solved in two steps – first, all of the pieces in the layer are oriented to form a solid color. This step is referred to as orientation and is usually performed with a single set of algorithms known as OLL. Then, all of those pieces are permuted to their correct spots. This is also usually performed as a single set of PLL algorithms. OLL and PLL use 57 and 21 algorithms, respectively. Cross, First 2 Layers, Orientation, Permutation is the most popular method for speedsolving the Rubik's Cube. It is the method used by all 3x3 world record holders in the last decade.The CFOP method can be used as a less advanced method by dividing the steps into more steps, reducing the number of algorithms that need to be learned but sacrificing time. It is usually known as the beginner method or layer by layer. Most people start learning CFOP with 4LLL, which is the less advanced, slower, and algorithm-reducing way to learn CFOP. The 4 steps are divided into edge orientation, corner orientation, corner permutation, and edge permutation. Later on, full OLL, which has 57 algorithms, and full PLL, which has 21 algorithms, can be learned. An average CFOP user that solves with full OLL and PLL, along with an efficient cross and efficient F2L, consists of 55–60 moves, which means that it has a higher move count than Roux and ZZ. However, finger tricks and algorithms are more researched with CFOP than any other method, which explains why the majority of the fastest speedcubers use CFOP as their main speedcubing method.
The CFOP method is the most widely used speed-solving method. It is a more efficient version of the Layer-By-Layer method. It is very popular due to the vast amount of resources that teach and improve upon the CFOP method. Many top speedcubers, including two-time World Champions Feliks Zemdegs and Max Park, learn additional sets of algorithms for the last slot and layer, such as Corners of Last Layer, which orients and permutes the corners when the edges are oriented, or Winter Variation, which finishes OLL while inserting the last pair, and ZBLL, which combines the solving processes of OLL corner orientation and PLL in only one algorithm, provided the last-layer edges are oriented.
Pseudoslotting is a technique that allows advanced CFOP solvers to be more creative with efficient solutions. It is an alternative method to F2L, where instead of creating and inserting pairs with matching colors, the bottom layer is intentionally misaligned to allow different pieces to be paired together. This provides more freedom while pairing pieces during F2L. Pseudoslotting is similar to another technique called keyhole in which the bottom layer is misaligned to allow a piece to be inserted independently of its solved counterpart. It is widely believed that Tymon Kolasiński is the best speedcuber who uses pseudoslotting. With practice, recognition becomes easier and the execution is done by muscle memory.
The ZB method, a variation of CFOP, has become more popular among top solvers. The ZB method combines the ZBLS and ZBLL algorithm sets, which together allow the solver to complete the last F2L pair and all of the last layer in just 2 algorithms. Solvers like Xuanyi Geng, Qixian Cao, and Tymon Kolasiński are among the first to adopt this method. The ZB method requires the solver to memorize 795 unique algorithms, which makes this a major barrier to entry, especially for older solvers. However, there is debate as to whether the ZB method is actually faster overall, since by cutting down on the steps required to solve the cube, solvers decrease the possibility for luck in their solves.