I feel like I’m starting to hit a new groove. After mastering the Beginner’s Method a couple months ago, I’ve slowly embraced more complicated techniques (read: time-savers). First, it was the advanced cross technique, which I learned quickly but at which I’m still slower than I ought to be. Then it was a month of intuitive F2L. I’ve got that mostly down, with a couple non-intuitive cases still a challenge. Lately, I’ve been jazzed to learn a few more OLL/PLL algorithms. Each expands the toolbox and introduces more efficiency. Last week, it was H and Z PLL perms. This week, it’s OLL 6 (aka, The Sidewinder).
Author: Adventures in Cubing
learning the H and Z perms
A few days ago, Deadesq (AIC’s first guest blogger) mentioned to me that he was looking for a more efficient solution to the four-headlight situation. By four headlights, he meant the situation in which, after applying the Beginner’s Method PLL corner permutations, you’re left with all four faces having headlights — with no fully solved side face. As I described in my tutorial, in that situation, the Beginner’s Method requires applying the PLL edge permutation algorithm twice in a row. Although I can do that quickly, it’s still not as quick as a single permutation. Enter H and Z perms…. Continue reading
Tough F2L Cases
PSA: This is a very old post, written just as I had begun to tackle F2L. Although my F2L is now much better, these cases remain hard. I’ve addressed these cases a few times since, with more robust analysis and improved algs — e.g., here, here, and here.
So, I’ve been working hard on F2L. Refusing to memorize algorithms, and heeding expert advice, I’ve concentrated on learning it “intuitively” or “organically.” While most of the cases feel instinctive at this point, there are a handful whose solution feels slightly less intuitive. This tutorial is a sort of personal dumping ground and cheat sheet for the cases I find toughest. I’ll add cases as they come up for me.
The basic solutions come from Badmephisto’s F2L cheat sheet, with some small tweaks to personalize them into my solving technique. As always, the visual diagrams come from Conrad Rider’s fantastic Visual Cube generator. Continue reading
47 seconds
With about two minutes before an early conference call, I loaded the timer and gave a cube a whirl. 47 seconds. Personal best.
This was with my white Dayan Lunhui, restickered with a Cubesmith half-bright set.
new blindfolded 3×3 world record
As Gizmodo reports, there’s apparently a new (blindfolded) sheriff in town. Hungarian Marcell Endrey clocked a 28.80 3×3 blind solve at the Zonhoven Open in Belgium, shaving two seconds off the previous record of 30.58.
Even more impressive, the 28 seconds includes almost 13 seconds of inspection time. In other words, it was a 15-second blind solve!?!
Looks like a stickerless Dayan — which is illegal in normal competition (since you can see four sides at once). I guess that concern doesn’t exist when you put on a night shade….
adventures in cubing 