Weekly competition 2008-34

[Mirek]

3x3x3 Fewest Moves:

yD2R'UF2R'FL2FL2RUF2R'F'RF'B2R2U'B2L2F2D' (25)

yD2R'UF2: Obvious 1x2x3.
R'FL2FL2RU: There are of course other promising opposite 1x2x3, but no other that prepares following steps so nicely.
F2R'F'RF'(L2): In the "Sune" class, it's the best sequence for the edges.
From here (17 moves), there's still a 3-cycle of edges needed. Maybe you can try to insert it before to optimize. I don't like insertions.
Time: About 30 minutes.

Gilles.

Excellent, Gilles! After rewriting it without cube rotation, it's this
= D2 B' U R2 B' R F2 R F2 B U_R2 B' R' B R' L2 B2 U' L2 F2 R2 D' (23)
I didn't know you count cube rotation as 2 moves ;-)
An alternative continuation based on 9-move edge flipping and corner rotations would be:
_ (U R U2 B U B2 R B R2) B' R2 B F2 (23) which also has three more modifications
_ U R U2 B U B2 R_ F D2 B' D2 F B2 (23)
_ U R U2 B U B2 R_ B2 F' U2 B' U2 F'(23)
_ U R U2 B U B2 R_ F2 B' L2 B' L2 B' (23)
If you add a requirement stating that no more than two quarter turns can appear in sequence in solutions, here they are.
I wondered whether there is one shorter finish. Cube Explorer finds what I cannot:
U F' U B' F U2 F R B' R B2 F -> (22)

 

[gogozerg]

Oops! Thanks Mirek. It was 25 without the (L2L2) cancelation. Message fixed.
Did you ever try to insert edge cycles like U2(M*)U2(M*)'?

 

[philkt731]

2: 3.94 3.69 3.40 3.53 4.06 = 3.72 not good, i gotta get that NAR (and WR)

3: 12.13 16.02 12.90 14.91 13.50 = 13.77 good

4: 56.36 1:03.44 1:18.33 OP 1:03.34 P 59.34 P = 1:02.04 good

5: 2:01.11 2:02.44 2:03.84 1:50.33 2:02.52 = 2:02.02 BAD

 

[ShadenSmith]

2: 3.94 3.69 3.40 3.53 4.06 = 3.72 not good, i gotta get that NAR (and WR)

3: 12.13 16.02 12.90 14.91 13.50 = 13.77 good

It would be awesome to have some records set at Lexington!

 

[Mirek]

Oops! Thanks Mirek. It was 25 without the (L2L2) cancelation. Message fixed.
Did you ever try to insert edge cycles like U2(M*)U2(M*)'?

After a quick look I did not see anything. It would be very unlikely to beat 6 moves by inserting a 10-mover. BTW, inserting edge permutations optimally is generally more difficult then corners due to all posibilities with 10 move long edge 3-cycles. I hate some like U' R' D' L' F L D R U F' and U R U R U R' U' R' U' R' with all their cyclic permutations.

 

[AvGalen]

For inserting edge-3-cycles you should also know this class of algs (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) where YZ are faces in the same slice turn like LR (M-slice) and ABCD are the other 4 faces in the same slice turn like UBDF (M-slice)

Example
U2 B2 D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' which can also be performed in 2 shifted variations to improve the chances of cancellations
B2 D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' U2
D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' U2 B2

P.S. The level for FMC continues to rise. I don't think Gus's 27 moves will stay the WR as long as the 28's have been

 

[Dene]

2x2x2: 15.92 4:18.38 12.77 15.49 21.16 => 17.52

3x3x3: 19.31 21.02 21.78 19.80 19.02 => 20.04

3x3x3_OH: 34.03 1:07.98 32.91 31.38 33.88 => 33.61

3x3x3_feet: 2:08.84 1:32.23 1:22.09 1:49.22 3:04.03 => 1:50.10

4x4x4: 1:29.48 1:27.41 1:17.95 1:49.47 1:45.92 => 1:34.27
What a rip-off

5x5x5: 2:14.16 2:11.39 2:16.66 2:32.52 2:18.14 => 2:16.32

7x7x7: 7:03.41 6:12.02 7:55.00 7:02.20 7:11.19 => 7:05.60
Darn, that was meant to be all sub7. Nevermind, one good solve!

 

[CharlieCooper]

What else would we be doing at Arnaud's house?

Joey Gouly

3x3 19.44 (19.94) 17.90 (15.28) 16.61 > 17.98

2x2 (8.94 +2) 6.71 6.22 (4.19) 7.33 > 6.75

2-4 Relay 1:50.34

2-5 Relay 4:24.40

2x2 BLD 26.27 39.38 dnf

Charlie Cooper

3x3 25.83 (25.18) 27.97 (28.30) 25.31 > 26.37

2x2 (9.36) (12.75) 12.21 9.90 10.16 > 10.76

Pyraminx (13.93) 7.68 (7.52) 11.11 8.00 > 8.93

OH (1:14.96) 1:34.75 1:23.08 (1:47.38) 1:26.94 > 1:28.56

2-4 Relay 3:13.27

2-5 Relay 7:31.66

2x2 BLD dnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnfdnf as luck would have it, I did a successful 2x2 BLD, then as soon as I do these scrambles it all goes wrong...

 

[Mirek]

For inserting edge-3-cycles you should also know this class of algs (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) where YZ are faces in the same slice turn like LR (M-slice) and ABCD are the other 4 faces in the same slice turn like UBDF (M-slice)

Example
U2 B2 D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' which can also be performed in 2 shifted variations to improve the chances of cancellations
B2 D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' U2
D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' U2 B2

P.S. The level for FMC continues to rise. I don't think Gus's 27 moves will stay the WR as long as the 28's have been

Good point, including your P.S. note. I did not specifically mention types (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) in my reply since one of them gogozerg obviously used in his solution. Another related 3-cycle is U' R' D' L' F2 L D R U F2.

 

[gogozerg]

It would be very unlikely to beat 6 moves by inserting a 10-mover.

My suggestion was about trying to insert the 6 move sequence (or a close friend), but I admit it would be lucky to find a good insertion point.
At least, I can't find any in this skeleton.

 

[fanwuq]

For inserting edge-3-cycles you should also know this class of algs (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) where YZ are faces in the same slice turn like LR (M-slice) and ABCD are the other 4 faces in the same slice turn like UBDF (M-slice)

Example
U2 B2 D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' which can also be performed in 2 shifted variations to improve the chances of cancellations
B2 D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' U2
D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' U2 B2

P.S. The level for FMC continues to rise. I don't think Gus's 27 moves will stay the WR as long as the 28's have been

Good point, including your P.S. note. I did not specifically mention types (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) in my reply since one of them gogozerg obviously used in his solution. Another related 3-cycle is U' R' D' L' F2 L D R U F2.

That's very useful! thanks! But I don't understand how does it work. How do you know where to begin/ which moves to use for (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) when you just see a position?

 

[MistArts]

For inserting edge-3-cycles you should also know this class of algs (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) where YZ are faces in the same slice turn like LR (M-slice) and ABCD are the other 4 faces in the same slice turn like UBDF (M-slice)

Example
U2 B2 D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' which can also be performed in 2 shifted variations to improve the chances of cancellations
B2 D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' U2
D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' U2 B2

P.S. The level for FMC continues to rise. I don't think Gus's 27 moves will stay the WR as long as the 28's have been

Good point, including your P.S. note. I did not specifically mention types (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) in my reply since one of them gogozerg obviously used in his solution. Another related 3-cycle is U' R' D' L' F2 L D R U F2.

That's very useful! thanks! But I don't understand how does it work. How do you know where to begin/ which moves to use for (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) when you just see a position?

I don't know...but I know that you can shift a 3-cycle like

U2 L R' F2 R L'

to

R' F2 L' R U2 L

and a lot of other stuff.

 

[StachuK1992]

Name:Stachu Korick

2x2x2=11.8
1. (10.05)
2. 11.93
3. (16.63)
4. 12.21
5. 11.25

3x3x3=32.38
1. (28.86)
2. 31.53
3. 33.83
4. (39.40)
5. 31.79


3x3x3 Match the scramble
1. 2:58.06

3x3x3 Fewest Moves=53 moves

Cross 5 L2 B2 F x2 D2

F2L1 9 U' F' U' F
F2L2 16 R' U2 R U' B U B'
F2L3 24 y2 R U R' U' R U R2[extra R' @ end sets next one up]
F2L4 29 U R2 B' R' B[sledgehammer-flip 2 edges]

OLL 39 U R U2 R2 F R F' R U2 R'
PLL 53 R' U2 R' d' R' F' R2 U' R' F U R U' F

2x2x2 + 3x3x3 + 4x4x4 Relay
4:27.72


2x2x2 + 3x3x3 + 4x4x4 + 5x5x5 Relay

 

[fanwuq]

For inserting edge-3-cycles you should also know this class of algs (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) where YZ are faces in the same slice turn like LR (M-slice) and ABCD are the other 4 faces in the same slice turn like UBDF (M-slice)

Example
U2 B2 D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' which can also be performed in 2 shifted variations to improve the chances of cancellations
B2 D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' U2
D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' U2 B2

P.S. The level for FMC continues to rise. I don't think Gus's 27 moves will stay the WR as long as the 28's have been

Good point, including your P.S. note. I did not specifically mention types (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) in my reply since one of them gogozerg obviously used in his solution. Another related 3-cycle is U' R' D' L' F2 L D R U F2.

That's very useful! thanks! But I don't understand how does it work. How do you know where to begin/ which moves to use for (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) when you just see a position?

I don't know...but I know that you can shift a 3-cycle like

U2 L R' F2 R L'

to

R' F2 L' R U2 L

and a lot of other stuff.

I've actually found a shifted 2-cycle by myself, but not sure how I did it.
It was one of Lucas Garron's Z perms.

 

[tsaoenator]

Andy Tsao
4x4x4: 58.34, (1:02.97), 1:00.58, (53.24), 58.09 = 59.00

 

[Erik]

Erik Akkersdijk
2: (4.93), 4.06, (3.66), 3.41, 4.11 -> 3.86 what else would someone do when being at Arnaud's place?
3: (9.90), 12.67, (13.14), 11.05, 10.49 -> 11.40

 

[MistArts]

For inserting edge-3-cycles you should also know this class of algs (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) where YZ are faces in the same slice turn like LR (M-slice) and ABCD are the other 4 faces in the same slice turn like UBDF (M-slice)

Example
U2 B2 D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' which can also be performed in 2 shifted variations to improve the chances of cancellations
B2 D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' U2
D2 R' B2 U2 F2 L' U2 B2

P.S. The level for FMC continues to rise. I don't think Gus's 27 moves will stay the WR as long as the 28's have been

Good point, including your P.S. note. I did not specifically mention types (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) in my reply since one of them gogozerg obviously used in his solution. Another related 3-cycle is U' R' D' L' F2 L D R U F2.

That's very useful! thanks! But I don't understand how does it work. How do you know where to begin/ which moves to use for (A2 B2 C2 Z B2 A2 D2 Y) when you just see a position?

I don't know...but I know that you can shift a 3-cycle like

U2 L R' F2 R L'

to

R' F2 L' R U2 L

and a lot of other stuff.

I've actually found a shifted 2-cycle by myself, but not sure how I did it.
It was one of Lucas Garron's Z perms.

@Mr. Galen: Why use a 8-mover when optimal is 6?

@Fanwuq: There are like 20+ or something even more ways to do a Z-perm optimally.

 

[guusrs]

FMC: L'B L F2 L' B' L D2 B2 U' F' U' B F' R2 F' R U F D' F' U' F D R' (25)

Again a very promising scramble!
After 40 minutes or so I found a very good 13-move starter:
2x2x3 block: .F2 D2 B2 U' F' U' B (7)
All edges: F' R2 F' R.F R' (13)
Remaining corner-5 cycle:
- before the first move insert: L'B L F2 L' B' L F2 (+6)
- at the dot insert: U F D' F' U' F D F' (+6)
close to the hour limit but proud to solve succesfully with a double insertion.

Congrats Gilles with your splendid 23-mover!

Gus

 

[Mirek]

FMC: L'B L F2 L' B' L D2 B2 U' F' U' B F' R2 F' R U F D' F' U' F D R' (25)

Again a very promising scramble!
After 40 minutes or so I found a very good 13-move starter:
2x2x3 block: .F2 D2 B2 U' F' U' B (7)
All edges: F' R2 F' R.F R' (13)
Remaining corner-5 cycle:
- before the first move insert: L'B L F2 L' B' L F2 (+6)
- at the dot insert: U F D' F' U' F D F' (+6)
close to the hour limit but proud to solve succesfully with a double insertion.

Congrats Gilles with your splendid 23-mover!

Gus

Gus, the starter is excellent! But you missed the great opportunity here. Check out this:
F2 D2 B2 U'* F' U' F' B R2 F' R F R' (13) insert at * U B' U' F' U B U' F
= F2 D2 B U' F' U B U2 F' B R2 F' R: F R' (15) insert at : R B R' F2 R B' R' F2 =>
=> F2 D2 B U' F' U B U2 F' B R2 F' R2 B R' F2 R B' R' F' R' (21)
How do you like it?
Obviously, after the first insertion, a simple 8-move finish would get you even with Gilles at 23.

 

[gogozerg]

25? 23? 21?!
FMC guys, let's keep our inspiration for Bilbao.