Weekly competition 2010-33

[AdvanceFIN]

2x2: 3.57, 4.44, 3.85, (3.32), (7.00) = 3.95
Comment: Decent.
3x3: (13.17), 11.67, 12.93, 12.71, (10.26) = 12.44
Comment: Very good!

 

[ExoCorsair]

3x3x3: (21.07) (14.43) 18.30 18.53 18.77 = 18.53
7x7x7: 8:59.57 (8:34.02) 10:15.88 (10:45.57) 9:04.22 = 9:26.56

lololol.

 

[hawkmp4]

3x3 FMC: 48 moves

Spoiler

2x2: L2 B2 R D2 (4/4)
2x2x3: B2 L U2 L2 U' L' B2 y2 (7/11)
Rest of F2L + LL monkeying: R' U' R U' R U2 R B U' B' U F U' F' R U R' U' R U' R' (21/32)
OLL: F R U R' U' F' (6/38)
PLL: x' R U' R D2 R' U R D2 R2 F' (10/48)
Frustrating. I had a good start but couldn't get anything good for the LL.

3x3: 28.55 29.29 27.55 (32.82) (26.77) = 28.46
Considering the last time I practised 3x3 was 2 weeks ago, and only 12 solves for this competition, not too bad.

3x3 OH: (46.06) (1:14.07) 58.66 1:11.62 1:00.62 = 1:03.63
Bad. But I haven't practised 3x3 at all, let alone OH. And I set my cube too tight.

 

[PeterV]

PeterV:

2x2x2: 5.30, (8.46), 7.41, (4.28), 5.22 = 5.98 avg.

3x3x3: 25.27, 27.33, (21.63), 26.77, (32.52) = 26.46 avg.

 

[eastamazonantidote]

comment: This is my first ever sub-30 solution! I found this in about 40 minutes. I tried to see if I could improve on it, but I was so excited that I couldn't concentrate and just took the 29 move solution!

Spoiler

Scramble: L2 R2 U R' D B F2 D' B' L' B2 L F2 D2 R2 U B' U
Solution: L2 B2 R D2 B' U D L' D' U L F' L' B L F L' U' L' B' L' B2 L B2 L' B' L B L2
2x2x2: L2 B2 R D2
2x2x3: B' U
flip "bad" edges: D L' D' U . B U'
rest of F2L - leaving a corner 3 cycle: L' B' L' B2 L B2 L' B' L B L2

Insert L F' L' B L F L' B' at the dot to cancel two moves and fix the 3 corners. NISS was no help at each of the steps, as the continuations from the linear solution always seemed better than the NISS alternatives at a glance.

We have the same opening and even the same idea after that (orienting edges). Nice solution: I wish I could find insertions like that.

3x3 FMC: 28
Scramble: L2 R2 U R' D B F2 D' B' L' B2 L F2 D2 R2 U B' U
Solution: L2 B2 R D2 B' U B2 L2 B L U B2 U2 L D' L U L' D L' D' R' D L' D' R D L'

Spoiler

2x2x2: L2 B2 R D2
2x3x2: B' U
EO: B2 L2 B
Finish edges: L U B2 U2 L2 U
Leave 3 corners: U' L' D' L U L' D L
Finish: L2 D' R' D L' D' R D L'
Frustrated myself trying to finish the last 6 corners. Decided to break it into 2 3-cycles but couldn't find a nice way to finish the last 3. Must work on corner comms.

 

[cmhardw]

We have the same opening and even the same idea after that (orienting edges). Nice solution: I wish I could find insertions like that.

3x3 FMC: 28
Scramble: L2 R2 U R' D B F2 D' B' L' B2 L F2 D2 R2 U B' U
Solution: L2 B2 R D2 B' U B2 L2 B L U B2 U2 L D' L U L' D L' D' R' D L' D' R D L'

Spoiler

2x2x2: L2 B2 R D2
2x3x2: B' U
EO: B2 L2 B
Finish edges: L U B2 U2 L2 U
Leave 3 corners: U' L' D' L U L' D L
Finish: L2 D' R' D L' D' R D L'
Frustrated myself trying to finish the last 6 corners. Decided to break it into 2 3-cycles but couldn't find a nice way to finish the last 3. Must work on corner comms.

Very nice solution! I only wish we could have collaborated on this solve. I bettered your solution to 24 using corner insertions!

Spoiler

Using your skeleton of

2x2x2: L2 B2 R D2
2x3x2: B' U
EO: B2 L2 B
Finish edges: L U B2 U2 L2 U

I found the following insertions:
L2 B2 R D2 B' U B2 L2 B L U B2 U2 L2 . U

Insert L' D' L ! U L' D L U' at the dot (.)

Insert R U L' U' R' U L U' at the exclamation mark (!)

This combination gives 7 turn cancellations and leaves:
L2 B2 R D2 B' U B2 L2 B L U B2 U2 L D' L R U L' U' R' U D L

Chris

P.S. I find this extremely useful when attempting corner insertions.

 

[Sir E Brum]

2x2x2: 7.39, 6.87, (7.69), 7.26, (4.91) = 7.17
3x3x3: (22.57), 20.17, 20.40, (15.58), 20.80 = 20.45
4x4x4:
5x5x5:
6x6x6:
7x7x7:
3x3x3 BLD:
3x3x3 OH: 45.99, 43.89, (53.82), 44.44, (33.49) = 44.77
Magic: 2.18, 2.40, (1.88), 1.89, (3.85) = 2.16

 

[eastamazonantidote]

We have the same opening and even the same idea after that (orienting edges). Nice solution: I wish I could find insertions like that.

3x3 FMC: 28
Scramble: L2 R2 U R' D B F2 D' B' L' B2 L F2 D2 R2 U B' U
Solution: L2 B2 R D2 B' U B2 L2 B L U B2 U2 L D' L U L' D L' D' R' D L' D' R D L'

Spoiler

2x2x2: L2 B2 R D2
2x3x2: B' U
EO: B2 L2 B
Finish edges: L U B2 U2 L2 U
Leave 3 corners: U' L' D' L U L' D L
Finish: L2 D' R' D L' D' R D L'
Frustrated myself trying to finish the last 6 corners. Decided to break it into 2 3-cycles but couldn't find a nice way to finish the last 3. Must work on corner comms.

Very nice solution! I only wish we could have collaborated on this solve. I bettered your solution to 24 using corner insertions!

Spoiler

Using your skeleton of

2x2x2: L2 B2 R D2
2x3x2: B' U
EO: B2 L2 B
Finish edges: L U B2 U2 L2 U

I found the following insertions:
L2 B2 R D2 B' U B2 L2 B L U B2 U2 L2 . U

Insert L' D' L ! U L' D L U' at the dot (.)

Insert R U L' U' R' U L U' at the exclamation mark (!)

This combination gives 7 turn cancellations and leaves:
L2 B2 R D2 B' U B2 L2 B L U B2 U2 L D' L R U L' U' R' U D L

Chris

P.S. I find this extremely useful when attempting corner insertions.

Thanks a bundle Chris! 24 would've been so nice...I usually don't do insertions and just NISS to create large quantities of blocks, but it didn't work out very well this week. I'll definitely take a look at that link.

 

[Henrik]

Henrik:

Multi: 5/5 23:25 min (memo 14 min)
New PB I guess.

4x4BLD: 9:12 min (4:58 memo), DNF (9:35 (5:11)), DNS = 9:12 min
Too slow memo, and execution.

 

[nccube]

2x2: 4,86 3,88 5,71 3,11 4,84= 4,53
Pretty slow for me, I normally do 3.5-3.9

3x3: 16,80 16,80 14.18 13.97 14.71= 15,23
Bad, my avg is around 13-14 (I did this 5 mins after I woke up today)

4x4: 1:29.40 1:38.22 1:21.97 1:34.91 DNF= 1:34.19
I was interrupted during the last solve and I didn't finish the cube

5x5: 3:16.84 2:38.84 2:46.96 2:41.34 2:54.71= 2:47.67
Normal

3x3OH: 45.33 48.84 39.90 47.66 38.97= 44.30
HORRIBLE, I am normally 10 secs faster

2x2BLD: 39.13 DNF DNS= 39,13
Nothing to say here

2x2+3x3+4x4= 2:24.44
Bad, specially 4x4 part

Pyraminx: 10.80 7.84 12.47 8.90 11.27= 10.32
What I expected

FMC: 48 moves

 

[Stini]

P.S. I find this extremely useful when attempting corner insertions.

Thanks a bundle Chris! 24 would've been so nice...I usually don't do insertions and just NISS to create large quantities of blocks, but it didn't work out very well this week. I'll definitely take a look at that link.

I'd find that link more useful if it had non-isomorphic cases listed separately. I mostly used that link when I was learning BH (actually just for FMC haha), but it could have been more useful. For example it took me a while to go through all A9s and then realize there are pretty much only 4 of those (not including inverses): A-perm, headlights, variation of A-perm (compare R2 D2 R U R' D2 R U' R and R2 D2 R U2 R' D2 R U2 R) and a variation of headlights (compare R2 D R' U2 R D' R' U2 R' and R2 D' R' U2 R D R' U2 R'). If you go even further, you can consider headlights a variation of A-perm so they are all the same really. I can understand that it's like F2L in a sense that similar cases have the same logic behind them, but now I feel like the page is analogous to listing F2L-cases for *all* slots and claiming that they are separate cases, which is unnecessary (especially when the algs aren't optimized for speed).

Also for insertions almost always an 8-mover brings the best result, so it's not really necessary to know full BH like I do. Some of the BH-cases are actually *never* useful for insertions, for example orthogonals. Because they are of the form S A B A' B' S', if there were any major cancellations, you'd find them either move before or move after in your skeleton when you have an 8-mover. A9s are a bit similar, but you can actually get major cancellations from that end of the commutator where it cancels with the pre-move and you can't reproduce that a move earlier or later in the skeleton.

Nevertheless, nice results! It was about time someone got sub-30 on this scramble. I found the same start, but couldn't find your endings.

 

[mande]

3x3: (20.50), (18.07), 20.21, 20.11, 20.38 = 20.23
Comment: Done on a very stiff cube.

3x3 OH: (43.25), (32.11), 40.61, 32.42, 39.00 = 37.34
Comment: Decent.

3x3 BLD: 3:03.74, 2:31.21, DNF = 2:31.21
Comment: I got a phone call during memoing the last cube and talked for more than 10 minutes.

3x3 FMC: 31 moves
Solution: L2 B R B D2 U' L' U L B' U L2 B' R' B L2 B' R L D' B2 D L2 B L B D' B D L B'

Spoiler

2x2x2: L2 B R B D2
2x2x3: U' L' U L B' U
F2L: * B' L D' B2 D L2 B L (B2 L)
Leave 3 corners: (L' B') D' B D L B'

Insert L2 B' R' B L2 B' R B at * to cancel 2 moves.

Comment: I couldn't get anywhere much with a 6 move 2x2x3 (best solution with that start was 34 moves). Fairly satisfactory result for me.

 

[cmhardw]

I'd find that link more useful if it had non-isomorphic cases listed separately. I mostly used that link when I was learning BH (actually just for FMC haha), but it could have been more useful.

Hi Teemu,

The omission is deliberate, but not out of laziness or Daniel and I wanting to make it harder to learn. We actually don't classify the A9's as different types. To us, A9 simply means that the setup move cancels with the A part of the commutator. There is no further breakdown of the A9's to us, and this applies mainly to blindfold solving. When solving blindfolded there are certain characteristics of the pieces, such as which are interchangeable and which are not, that identify the case quickly as a 9 turn case. From that point, rather than classify the different sub-cases, we simply search for the first turn that will provide the cancellation.

Also, neither Daniel nor I have had time to work on the website we originally intended to include with the site. However, there have already been some good tutorials on this forum for BH corners, and I provided a post about how I think of the BH edge cases. I think, at least for now, these will suffice for a starting point for using BH in blindfold solving. As for it's use in fewest moves, I personally think of the cases the same way. When looking for a corner insertion, I look at the 3 pieces in the corner cycle and go through the same mental process that I would have I had the exact same cycle in a blindfolded solve.

I'm not disagreeing with you, or even saying that I think it's unnecessary to break the A9's and B9's cases down even further. I just don't think Daniel or I will have time to do this anytime soon. If someone wants to do this, I will definitely provide a link to the site off the main BH algorithm list page, with due credit to the author.

Chris

 

[Stini]

I'd find that link more useful if it had non-isomorphic cases listed separately. I mostly used that link when I was learning BH (actually just for FMC haha), but it could have been more useful.

Hi Teemu,

The omission is deliberate, but not out of laziness or Daniel and I wanting to make it harder to learn. We actually don't classify the A9's as different types. To us, A9 simply means that the setup move cancels with the A part of the commutator. There is no further breakdown of the A9's to us, and this applies mainly to blindfold solving. When solving blindfolded there are certain characteristics of the pieces, such as which are interchangeable and which are not, that identify the case quickly as a 9 turn case. From that point, rather than classify the different sub-cases, we simply search for the first turn that will provide the cancellation.

Also, neither Daniel nor I have had time to work on the website we originally intended to include with the site. However, there have already been some good tutorials on this forum for BH corners, and I provided a post about how I think of the BH edge cases. I think, at least for now, these will suffice for a starting point for using BH in blindfold solving. As for it's use in fewest moves, I personally think of the cases the same way. When looking for a corner insertion, I look at the 3 pieces in the corner cycle and go through the same mental process that I would have I had the exact same cycle in a blindfolded solve.

I'm not disagreeing with you, or even saying that I think it's unnecessary to break the A9's and B9's cases down even further. I just don't think Daniel or I will have time to do this anytime soon. If someone wants to do this, I will definitely provide a link to the site off the main BH algorithm list page, with due credit to the author.

Chris

I wasn't really suggesting further classification. A9 is perfectly fine just as it is. All I'm saying I found it redundant to list all the cases rather than just all the non-isomorphic cases. I would have preferred something like:

6 non-isomorphic 8-movers
4 non-isomorphic 9-movers
2 non-isomorphic 10-movers
one 11-mover
one 12-mover

I didn't actually learn A9s by thinking them as separate cases and learn the alg for those by heart (although I can imagine a number of people might want to do that since there are only so few cases). I went through every A9 on the list and tried to find the canceling setup myself. I also look for interchangeability of the pieces to recognize and to solve the case. But I wasn't sure how many distinct cases there are, so I had to go through 126 cases instead of just 4 to build the big picture and to be sure that I can solve every case myself.
Nevertheless your page was still very useful for me, even if it could have been even more useful.

 

[Kenneth]

FMC ... 43 HTM

Spoiler

2x2x2 : U' R U F2 U2 R2 F2 ... 7
2x2x3 : L2 U B U2 L2 ... 12
LCE, 3p : U B2 U2 B' U' B ... 18
4p, VH : U' R' U' R U' B U2 B2 U' R' U R B ... 31 (bad case)
Sune-Bruno : L' U' L U' L U L2 U L2 U2 L' ... 42
AUF : U ... 43

LCE, Last Cross Edge

One try linear, about 10 minutes.

Edit; I just found it is a 5-gen, no D moves =)

Chris, Stini, I listed all LL corner 3-cycles in the wiki last days, see [wiki]L3C[/wiki].

 

[SimonWestlund]

2x2: 1.39, 2.62, 3.10, 3.16, 3.01 = 2.91
3x3: 11.07, 11.02, 11.27, 10.97, 11.44 = 11.12
4x4: 52.17, 51.34, 52.13, 51.41, 49.70 = 51.63
5x5: 1:39.91, 1:44.64, 1:37.56, 1:38.54, 1:28.52 = 1:38.67
6x6: 3:14.95, 3:19.66, 3:05.01, 3:27.29, 3:02.50 = 3:13.21
7x7: 5:04.12, 5:11.02, 5:01.92, 5:00.00, 4:59.03 = 5:02.02
2x2 BLD: 27.41, DNF(6.91), 21.72 = 21.72
3x3 BLD: 1:40.19, DNS, DNS
Multi BLD: 2/3 18:20
3x3 OH: 20.83, 26.43, 20.72, 22.60, 22.11 = 21.85
3x3 WF: 1:44.30, 1:31.81, 1:42.21, 1:42.90, 1:29.51 = 1:38.98
3x3 MTS: 1:11.45, 1:02.10, 1:08.91, 1:03.00, 1:21.66 = 1:07.79
2-4 relay: 1:17.02
2-5 relay: 2:57.72
Magic: 1.43, 1.52, 1.52, 1.33, 1.33 = 1.43
Master Magic: 3.22, 3.25, 3.44, 3.44, 3.31 = 3.33
Clock: 10.94, 11.81, 11.01, 10.00, 9.09 = 10.65
Megaminx: 1:04.71, 55.64, 1:03.12, 59.87, 58.62 = 1:00.54
Pyraminx: 7.41, 2.68, 4.02, 5.49, 3.13 = 4.21
Square-1: 22.98, 20.32, 19.66, 24.16, 16.83 = 20.98

 

[Micael]

FMC: DNF
B2 R B' L' U F L' F2 D2 F L' B L D L' D' B U' L U B' U B' U2 L U B2 L2 B' L2 B' L2 B2 L
Very easy scramble this week. Here's the explanation.
I found a 13 double X-cross that was far more obvious, but it was actually much more move efficient to first form a 2x2x2 then make it bigger.
2x2x2: B2 R B'
Expand to 2x2x3: L' U F L' F2 D2 F
I then chose to do green after heaps of testing.
Expand to triple X-cross: L' B L D L' D' B U' L U
Use the bolded L to force a PLL skip.
Last pair plus messing around with LL: B' U B' U2 L
OLL: U B2 L2 B' L2 B' L2 B2 L

34 moves, PB
I did this is 25 mins~ because I had to take the dog for a walk but I'm not sure if this would've improved in the remaining time.

Can't wait to see some other people's results, I think there'll be a lot of sub 30s this week.
Edit: My solution wasn't working so it was a DNF. It sucks because I did it on paper, and the solution I had on the paper was correct, I just mucked it up while typing, and didn't have time to test it.

So what is the problem? You already burned the paper? Your dog ate it?

 

[uberCuber]

Chris Hardwick
-----------------
Fewest Moves: 29 turns
comment: This is my first ever sub-30 solution! I found this in about 40 minutes. I tried to see if I could improve on it, but I was so excited that I couldn't concentrate and just took the 29 move solution!

Spoiler

Scramble: L2 R2 U R' D B F2 D' B' L' B2 L F2 D2 R2 U B' U
Solution: L2 B2 R D2 B' U D L' D' U L F' L' B L F L' U' L' B' L' B2 L B2 L' B' L B L2
2x2x2: L2 B2 R D2
2x2x3: B' U
flip "bad" edges: D L' D' U . B U'
rest of F2L - leaving a corner 3 cycle: L' B' L' B2 L B2 L' B' L B L2

Insert L F' L' B L F L' B' at the dot to cancel two moves and fix the 3 corners. NISS was no help at each of the steps, as the continuations from the linear solution always seemed better than the NISS alternatives at a glance.

OMG you and I found almost exactly the same solution..you just found a better insertion O_O. (my post is on the 4th page) I found 2 different insertion points that I could use, but both of them only cancelled one move, I didn't even see an insertion where you did it. I need to work on finding good insertions; so far I've never found one that cancelled more than one move.

 

[HelpCube]

3x3: 27.50, (31.58), (26.46), 31.36, 27.75= 28.87
Comment: not bad.
3x3 OH: (53.13), 1:14.56, (1:25.56), 53.52, 1:05.72= 1:04.60
Comment: 53.52=pll skip lol
Master Magic: (2.56), (4.86), 3.65, 2.59, 4.30=3.51
Comment: EPIC FAIL!!! should've done soo much better.
3x3 FMC: 76 moves.
Comment: bad. shouldve done alot better.

 

[cmhardw]

Chris Hardwick
-----------------
Fewest Moves: 29 turns
comment: This is my first ever sub-30 solution! I found this in about 40 minutes. I tried to see if I could improve on it, but I was so excited that I couldn't concentrate and just took the 29 move solution!

Spoiler

Scramble: L2 R2 U R' D B F2 D' B' L' B2 L F2 D2 R2 U B' U
Solution: L2 B2 R D2 B' U D L' D' U L F' L' B L F L' U' L' B' L' B2 L B2 L' B' L B L2
2x2x2: L2 B2 R D2
2x2x3: B' U
flip "bad" edges: D L' D' U . B U'
rest of F2L - leaving a corner 3 cycle: L' B' L' B2 L B2 L' B' L B L2

Insert L F' L' B L F L' B' at the dot to cancel two moves and fix the 3 corners. NISS was no help at each of the steps, as the continuations from the linear solution always seemed better than the NISS alternatives at a glance.

OMG you and I found almost exactly the same solution..you just found a better insertion O_O. (my post is on the 4th page) I found 2 different insertion points that I could use, but both of them only cancelled one move, I didn't even see an insertion where you did it. I need to work on finding good insertions; so far I've never found one that cancelled more than one move.

Wow, that really is pretty crazy! I wouldn't have expected two people to find essentially the same solution, minus our different insertions. More on that below:

3x3 FMC: L2 B2 R D2 B' U D L' D' U B U' L' B' L' R B' L2 B R' B' L2 B' L B2 L' B' L B L2 (30 moves)

Spoiler

2x2x2: L2 B2 R D2
2x2x3: B' U
EO: D L' D' U B U'
All but 3 corners: L' B' L' * B2 L B2 L' B' L B L2

Insert at *: R B' L2 B R' B' L2 B to cancel 1 move
Incredible start, and the fact that my F2L left only 3 corners at the end was pure luck; I did not plan it at all.
EDIT: wth Chris and I have almost identical solutions, he just found a better insertion O_O. Damn I was so happy with myself for figuring this out and now it seems that i wasn't the only one. Oh well I'm still happy that I found a 30 move solution!

The way I found my insertion was to do an exhaustive search and try, mentally, all insertions after each move. Almost always there is only one option between each pair of moves, but sometimes there are two options.

As for how I found my insertion, at the point of the dot in my solution I have the cycle:
BUL -> BRU -> RFU

But the trick is that there are 3 possible ways to view this cycle:
1) BUL -> BRU -> RFU
2) ULB -> RUB-> FUR
3) LBU-> UBR-> URF

Option 2 is somewhat difficult to see a commutator, for me at least. I tend to make judicious use of viewpoint shifting when searching for insertions. I personally viewed that cycle as option 1. Also, there are two options for the commutator. You can do the one I used which is L F' L' B L F L' B' or you can do B' R' F' R B R' F R. The first option gives the best cancellation of all the possible ones.

Awesome that we had essentially the same solution! Also, if you're interested in finding cool corner insertions I do recommend learning BH corners. Of course I have a terribly biased opinion, but I think it is quite useful

Chris