It’s a country that’s better know for samba and fancy football… but this year competitors of a different kind are heading to Brazil for the RUBIK’S Cube world championships.
Dozens of super-quick puzzle solvers with speedy fingers will take part in 17 different events – including re-arranging a cube BLINDFOLDED and fixing an extra large 5 x5 cube.
And like the 100 metres sprint which will be the highlight of the Olympics which take place in Rio De Janeiro in 2016, the pinnacle of this tournament is the classic 3 x 3 cube final.
Cube experts will be looking to beat Australia’s Feliks Zemdegs who won the event two years ago in Las Vegas by solving the cube in a breathtaking time of just 8.18 SECONDS.
The Rubik’s Cube World Championship takes place at Colégio Etapa, Rua Vergueiro, Vila Mariana, São Paulo, from 9AM to 6PM on Friday and Saturday and 9AM until 5PM on Sunday.
Chrisi Trussell, from London-based Rubik’s Brand Ltd, said: ‘The Rubik’s Cube World Championship is a fantastic event which attracts the world’s Speedcubing elite.
‘The truth is that it’s not just about the competition – it’s a social weekend where participants can meet friends, share tips and watch the fastest Cubers in the world compete.
‘There is a wide range of categories – for example, some people complete the puzzle blindfolded or with their feet.’
Competitors solve the Rubik’s Cube five times. The fastest and slowest attempts are removed and an average time is taken so
it’s not always the fastest single solve that wins the competition.
The world record for a Single Solve is 5.25 seconds, set by American Collin Burns in April 2015.
The 17 different events include solving a 2×2 Rubik’s Cube, a 3×3 Rubik’s Cube, a 4×4 Rubik’s Cube, a 5×5 Rubik’s Cube.
In other competitions people have to solve cubes one-handed, blindfolded, with their feet and in the fewest moves.
The highlight of the competition is the 3 x 3 x 3 final, which starts at 4.15PM (São Paulo local time) on Sunday July 19. The championships will be streamed live from the start of the competition and can be viewed via http://cubovelocidade.com.br/worlds/ .
Erno Rubik, the inventor of the world’s best-selling toy, said: ‘I first made the Rubik’s Cube when I was a Professor of Architecture, to get my students to think spatially. Who’d have thought that 41 years later, several hundred young-at-heart fans would be competing in São Paulo? It shows that the challenge of completing the Cube is a timeless one.’
To find out more about the Rubik’s Cube, visit the website at www.rubiks.com, Twitter feed @RubiksOnline or #RubiksCube and on the official Facebook page.
Rubik’s Cube World Championship
