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Over 180 cubers showcase their skills in Chennai’s latest speed cubing challenge

During the Indian Cube Challenge at Phoenix Market City. | Photo credit: Ravindran R

The crowd at the mall watched as 13-year-old Mr Oviyasena spun five hula hoops in under a minute and solved a randomly placed Rubik’s Cube. Many stopped to watch the unique performance by the two-time Guinness World Record holder: his world records included spinning a hula hoop a maximum of 288 times and successfully solving a 3×3 cube in less than a minute.

The Indian Cube Challenge 2024, organised by Speedcubing India recently at Phoenix Market City, saw over 180 participants across various categories for ages eight to 14, apart from a special Open category.

Cube challenges are a form of competitive puzzle-solving where Rubik’s Cube enthusiasts like Oviya challenge themselves in terms of speed and skill. These challenges also encourage the creativity of cubers, while also fostering a sense of community.

Participants of the Indian Cube Challenge at Phoenix Market City

Participants taking part in the Indian Cube Challenge at Phoenix Marketcity | Photo credit: Ravindran R

Speedcubing India has been holding cubing competitions in Hyderabad and Bengaluru since 2014. The organisation has had participants from all age groups, from five-year-olds to 80-year-olds. The organisation’s founders, Pawan Kumar Akula and Vivek Prasad Mada, say this is their first challenge in Chennai.

“We understand that Chennai has a lot of potential and now a lot of Cubars are coming to participate,” says Pavan. He adds that they are very happy with the turnout and especially the number of registrations in the two days leading up to the event. Around 100 participants were expected. “We were pleasantly surprised to see a turnout of over 180 people and we are expecting around 400 registrations in the next edition,” says Pavan.

The competition held in Chennai had 2×2, 3×3 and 4×4 cube solving as the main event. Special events included memorized solving, where contestants had to prepare a day before and struggle to solve on the day of the event. Apart from the regular cubes, there were special cubes with different rotation axes called mirror cubes and pyramid-shaped puzzles called Pyraminx.

“My grandmother taught me how to solve the cube,” said Ayush, a Class IX student. Anirudh, an 11-year-old student from Hosur, who participated for the first time, said, “Other kids in my block were learning about cubes and naturally I was curious too. Then my dad bought me a cube and I learnt to solve the 3×3 cube from him. Later, I went online and learnt about different types of cubes and how to solve them.”

Oviya’s cubing journey began with a simple observation of her brother’s online practice sessions. It wasn’t until 2022 that Oviya, who was already deeply committed to honing her skills in both hooping and cubing, decided to challenge herself to excel in both disciplines. “Each practice session has brought me one step closer to success,” she says. Apart from her current accomplishments, Oviya also aims for the 2032 Olympics in archery, and is currently receiving coaching to achieve this goal.

Vivek says the organisation is planning to hold a challenge in Delhi in the coming months. The next edition in Chennai will be in September. Throwing light on the community, Pawan says, “India’s cubing community can be said to have grown since 2010.” There are a few active cubing hubs in India, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. Bengaluru and Chennai have seen the biggest competitions, and are actively growing their respective cubing communities through such events.

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