A speedcuber has combined two commonly used final moves into one to solve a Rubik’s cube Shutterstock/katiko.dp
A Rubik’s cube solver has become the first person to show proof of successfully combining the final two steps of solving the mechanical puzzle into one move. The feat required the memorisation of thousands of possible sequences for the final step.
Most skilled speedcubers – people who compete to solve Rubik’s cubes with the most speed and efficiency – choose to solve the final layer of the cube with two separate moves that involve 57 possible sequences for the penultimate step and 21 possible sequences for the final move.
Combining those two separate actions into a single move requires a person to memorise 3915 possible sequences. These sequences were previously known to be possible, but nobody is reported to have successfully achieved this so-called “Full 1 Look Last Layer” (Full 1LLL) move until a speedcuber going by the online username “edmarter” shared a YouTube video demonstrating that accomplishment.
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Edmarter says he decided to take up the challenge after seeing notable speedcubers try and fail. Over the course of about a year, he spent 10 hours each weekend and any free time during the week practising and memorising the necessary sequences, he told New Scientist. That often involved memorising 144 movement sequences in a single day.
All that effort paid off on 4 August 2022 when edmarter uploaded a video demonstrating the Full 1LLL over the course of 100 separate puzzle solves. He also posted his accomplishment to Reddit’s r/Cubers community.
His average solve time for each Rubik’s cube over the course of that video demonstration run was 14.79 seconds. He says he had an average solve time as low as 12.50 seconds during two practice runs before recording the video.
The Rubik’s cube community has reacted with overwhelming enthusiasm and awe. The top-voted comment on his Reddit post detailing the achievement simply reads: “This is absolutely insane.”
But he is not resting on his laurels. Next up, he plans to try practising some other methods for finishing the Rubik’s cube that have only previously been mastered by a handful of people.