• Welcome to the Speedsolving.com, home of the web's largest puzzle community!
    You are currently viewing our forum as a guest which gives you limited access to join discussions and access our other features.

    Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community of 40,000+ people from around the world today!

    If you are already a member, simply login to hide this message and begin participating in the community!

Random draw: win a Gan 11 M Pro 3x3!

pjk

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Messages
6,686
WCA
2007KELL02
SS Competition Results
In the spirit of the new year, I'm going to do some puzzle giveaways. To start, I will be giving away a brand new Gan 11 M Pro 3x3!
gan11mpro3x3_1024x1024@2x.jpg

All you have to do is reply to this thread telling about your 2020 cubing story during this covid lockdown period. Just some ideas of what to write: how did you practice? How has your cubing practice/competing changed since covid? What improvements have you made? What, if anything, will you change in 2021? I'll leave it open, it can be as long or short as you want.

Only 1 reply per person.

From all the entries, all the replies will go into a random number generator and a winner will be chosen at random. It starts now and will end in 10 days on January 17th at midnight EST GMT-5, so get your response in early!

Good luck, looking forward to the responses. Happy cubing!
 
Last edited:

ZB2op

Member
Joined
May 4, 2020
Messages
117
For the first half of the covid lockdown I barely cubed at all and for the second half I practiced way too much and my main event changed from 3x3 to 5x5. I dropped like 5 seconds off my 3x3 time and I also became CN. I also tried BLD and learnt that my short-term memory is awful.
 

PCCuber

Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2020
Messages
116
Location
London, England
WCA
2022CEND01
I got my first cube during covid. I practised until sub-25, when I got more puzzles. My main event is 3*3, and I have not gone to a competition yet (of course). I am not cn at all.
 

Milominx

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2020
Messages
234
Location
Sweden
I cubed before corona but i stopped. but in Summer break i started again arter watching the speedcubers Netflix documentary, i was averaging around 35 with beginners method, i got a better Cube and i couldnt understand F2L for a while but when i did i After a while learned 4LLL, i got down to about 25 seconds when i started learning PLL, now i know full PLL and average 19.
 
Last edited:

qwr

Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2019
Messages
3,371
YouTube
Visit Channel
I didn't practice so don't include me in the drawing lol.
well I learned ortega to solve 2x2 and I avg now 6.5 sec. For 3x3 I learned 4LLL and some basic F2L to go from avg 1 min to 35 sec. But improvement is a real grind.
 
Last edited:

PetrusQuber

Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2019
Messages
3,460
Location
my house, cubing.
YouTube
Visit Channel
Start of 2020 I was averaging 24ish seconds. At the time I had a Rubik’s Brand, Aolong V2, MF4 and GTS2M
I went to my first competition in January, was a pretty fun experience. I got the Valk Power M there, which was my main for a while. Steady improvement from there. Quarantine was introduced a couple months later, and I was really getting a lot of time to cube and to be on the forums. I was roughly sub 14 by April, and preordered the Tengyun V2 (still my current main). I was also doing a bucnh of random YT videos, and surprisingly received some support. In May it was my birthday, and I got a plethora of new kinds of cubes, enhancing my cubing experience for a while after that. But improvement slowed during the summer, and by the end of the summer I was only sub 13. The sub 8 Petrus thread reached its anniversary, and I took a break from cubing, discouraged by the slow improvement. And from there, I sort of lost cubing, only picking up the cube occasionally, and slowing down on the forums. Fast forward to now, I’ve sort of made a comeback, cube somewhat regularly, and yeah
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2020
Messages
2,081
Location
On a long train journey, Smashin' PBs one a stop
YouTube
Visit Channel
My entry:
Quarantine (or lockdown in India) was announced just the day before final exams started. All of a sudden, my life came to a halt. I felt really bored as if there was nothing to do.

One fine day in april, as I was cleaning my room, I found an old, unsolved, Rubik's brand in a sack of old toys. I thought to myself, "let's solve this puzzle once and for all". I tried hard, but could solve only two layers. Then, I looked up a tutorial on youtube and finally solved it. I could not contain my joy after i completed the last turn. Then, I scrambled it up again and this time, I used a stopwatch to time the solve. I don't remember exactly what time I got but I do remember it being somewhere north of 3 minutes. I fell in love with cubing since then!!!

In may, dad bought me a 3x3 speedcube, a 2x2 and a mirror blocks as a late birthday present, which are my mains now.

As for my practice schedule, I cube everyday for 2 hours, in which I devote 3/4ths of my time to solves and the rest, to learn algorithms and do slow solves.

I would like to break that sub 10 barrier in 2021 and try new events too.

P.S: I average around 19 seconds now on 3x3, low 2 on 2x2 and around 40 seconds OH
 

rubik2005

Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2018
Messages
666
Location
Christmas Wonderland
I'll start in mid-March when I received the Gan i play. Ootb, the cube performed incredibly well, and although a little loose, I was able to manage it, as well as get my first sub-10 single (9.26)! I frequently used the app v1 to solve and compete against others, and was definitely having a lot of fun. After knowing that Spring Break would be extened, I wanted to "keep having fun" and decided not to learn any algs or complete deliberate practice; however, progress was slim to none.

I didn't want to quit cubing due to the lack of improvement, for I knew that was on me. But I kept solving. Solving a 3x3 the same way I had been since more than a year ago. And in December, I finally decided to change my mindset and accomplish something. I learned about 3 or 4 OLLs, but mainly practiced slowing down and looking ahead to find the most efficient solution. I don't consider myself to be sub-17 yet, but my monthly goal system should help to finally reach a consistent average and not a 12 second solve followed by 20.

For some reason, I decided to pick up a YLM Square-1 M for Christmas, even though I gave the puzzle a try in 2018 and hated it back then. But let me tell you, this is fun. I have fallen in love with the puzzle, and can barely put it down after my solve is previous solve is done. But unlike 3x3, I started in the right path. Each week my knowledge of this puzzle grows, for I'm learning new cases, experimenting with cube shape, and watching Cube Master. Yesterday my average of 12 was about 1:15, but, sometimes I would screw up parity which would result in a DNF. Nevertheless, I've enjoyed every aspect of the way, and it always feels so good when you implement a concept you're learning into your solves. Silky has provided me with some help, so huge thanks to him!

This month I'll focus on Square-1 and do 3x3 on the side, but this will switch in February. Hopefully I can even film some of my solves and maybe let Alex critique them, if I get over the fact that my LG barely fits in a short, crappy, $5 phone tripod that falls when trying to film over the shoulder. (*GoPro, please help me). But I'll figure something out.

I really hope to learn and improve on many puzzles over the upcoming months. Cubing has been a very enjoyable part of my lives that has helped me create friends and build some confidence. Though I'm more active on the forum now than when I joined 2 years ago, it has also been great to be a part of it, so thanks to the staff and the members for providing us with a fun and informative resource.

Cubing without a doubt changed the way I think, and the way I look at things - in a good way of course. It has given me the mindset that money can't buy, and taught me lessons that will guide me when I'm older.
 
Last edited:

abunickabhi

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
6,682
Location
Yo
WCA
2013GHOD01
YouTube
Visit Channel
The year 2020 has been great for me. I attended my 50th WCA comp and crossed 2000 official solves in the WCA.
I genned about 8.5k 5-style algs for the UF buffer since I got more time, L F' L S L' S' F L' .

I did not break any records since my NR in the 4x4 in 2018, but I am hopeful my hard work will bear fruit one day in the MBLD event.

Also for the forums, I got more time to read the SS forums and compete in it. I had been reading the forums on and off since 2014, but never went into daily mode like I do now. I also did some WCA work for the WAC team, and applied for WEC and WCAT.
I hope to get decent results and finally 5bld and 4bld official mean in 2021, R S2 U' S U2 S U' R E' R2 E .

Happy Cubing!
 

Aksoan

Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2021
Messages
8
For me cubing started as a show off sport.. I don't think I would ever get into Speedcubing had there not been a friend of mine who had a similar plan. We competed to get better and managed to push into sub 50 together.

However after I changed schools I lost a lot of that motivation I had to get better. Fast forward one year later to April 2020. Stuck at home with nothing better to do, I picked up my dusty cube again.

Slowly I rediscovered what I had forgotten these past months, and my passion for cubing welled up in me.

I learnt CFOP(3LL currently) and watching my times drop gradually was an amazing experience. I am currently learning CN and lookahead as I can't devote excessive time due to school, but I got all the way to 15 ao5 on white cross.

My progress in this lockdown has given me the confidence that I can be one of the best. Maybe I'll meet some of you in national sone of these years ;)
 

Rouxster

Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2020
Messages
38
Location
India
I started cubing during the lockdown. I bought my first speed cube in April, and I was sub 20. in July. On my birthday in August, I got a square 1 and 4×4 . Now I average around 18 seconds on squan, 13 seconds on 3×3 and 1: 05 on 4×4. My goals for 2021 are to be sub 10 on 3×3 as well as squan.
There are no comps in india due to the pandemic and there are no cubers near me; so these forums are the only place where I can chat with cubers or ask for help.
So thank you everyone on the forums for helping and entertaining me.
Happy cubing!
 

DNF_Cuber

Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2020
Messages
1,892
Location
Beyond the grave.....
I started really speedcubing when I picked up my 2x2 for the first time in months around april and learned the ortega method. After a while in that, I learned F2L and 4lll for 3x3, and then I learned yau for 4x4 and 5x5. I ended up learning 2bld, then 3bld, trying a shapemod, learning Sq1, getting a magnetic cube, and a few other things this summer. I have tried even more new puzzles since then, and have been getting faster and developing a collection all the while.

Thanks for doing this!
 

TheSlykrCubr

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
727
Location
This Hellhole We Know As The British Isles
YouTube
Visit Channel
I started my cubing journey during covid, around June-July. Eventually I was obsessed with it, so much so I gave up speedrunning entirely to make more time for cubing. Now, i am able to juggle both these hobbies, including music production (Dad helps me, and I take drum lessons)
I am now very close to sub 15 on 3x3, i am dual colour neutral, and have sub 2 all pll's. As for Speedrunning, I am tied 1st on 60 Seconds Burger Run (HTML5 version)
 

FishyIshy

Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2020
Messages
273
Location
Earth. . .
YouTube
Visit Channel
During the beginning of the pandemic, I averaged 25 seconds. I started doing more practice and became color neutral, then I became Sub 20 in about another month. I started a YouTube channel and started to get more comfortable with my ability to be a future world class solver. In only a year of speedcubing, I now average 9 seconds. The pandemic really shifted my belief of how much cubing can help people. It helped me to stay focused and definitely stay sane.
 

Scollier

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2020
Messages
472
Location
Dream inside of a Dream inside of a Dream
YouTube
Visit Channel
The pandemic had already hit a while ago in Michigan. I was home schooled already, so there was no really big change. Then summer came, and our family was spending time at our family cottage. My older brother brought his old Rubik's Brand cube. It was already scrambled, and my brother could not solve it. I decided to try, and after watching 4 parts of a detailed you tube tutorial, I finally was able to solve it. From there, I enjoyed the cube more and more. I finally got my first speed cube, a GAN 356 RS about a month later, and I typed up and printed out sheets to learn 2-look PLL and OLL. I blew through those algorithms and my times went up significantly. Most of my public activities had been cancelled due to covid, so I was able to practice a lot. I really struggled learning intuitive F2L, but I finally got it. I had learned pretty much 2-look OLL and PLL and F2L all in the second half of summer. Then school started, and I had less and less time for cubing, but I did improve significantly. I average about 30 seconds, and I am happy with that. I never got to go to a competition, but I hope I eventually will. And that's my story :)
 
Joined
Jun 8, 2019
Messages
757
Location
A Pineapple Orbiting Neptune
YouTube
Visit Channel
During by the start of lockdown, I averaged around 14.5 using CFOP, I witches to Hawaiian Kociemba and now average 10, made a website, generated and made docs for hundreds of obscure alg sets, made a YouTube channel which I haven’t posted on for 2 months, but I will be back soon(maybe), got from 25 seconds to 16 seconds on squan, learnt CLL and got from 3.5 to 2.5 on 2x2, got a clock(should have waited for the Qiyi), got from sub 6 to sub 5 on skewb, and solved my 7x7 more than twice
 

GAN CUBER

Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2020
Messages
265
In 2020 my goal was to get sub 2020 which i did but the worst thing about the pandemic was no cubing comps and if 2020 was not that horrible it would have been my first cubing comp which I was really looking forward to. I did the ss comps which kept me active in cubing so and I also discovered the ss foums in this year so i guess that was the good thing about 2020 for me idk? But 2020 was a really hard year for all of us but one thing we all can agree on is that ss forums helped us talk to other cubers so thank you for that @pjk.
 
Joined
Jun 12, 2019
Messages
54
I was averaging around 11 with CFOP going into quarantine, and in May/June I decided to switch to ZZ for 2H (and I'd been using it for OH for about a year, so i had a good idea of how to solve with it.) After learning how to plan EOCross, learning good F2L algs, and doing many thousands of solves over the course of 4 months, I got to sub 8. I was really proud of my ability to improve quickly. I hope in 2021 that I can finish learning full ZBLL and compete officially so I can get a PR average closer to what I'm actually capable of now.
 
Top