Check out the German translation by Frederik Meysel. From 2005. Check out the French translation by TBBUIM. From 2004. Check out the Italian translation, by Massimo Rainato! From 1998. Buy Dayan cubes at Amazon. Some of the best speed cubes of 2012.
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Solving Rubik's Cube for speed.

By Lars Petrus

Introduction

This is a tutorial for my method of solving Rubik's Cube. It is intended both for beginners and experienced cubers. There is no group theory or written notation involved, I just show you how to move. You need a modern canvas tag capable browser, ideally with WebGL enabled.

Using this method, I won the 1981 Swedish championships, and finished 4th in the first world championships in Budapest 1982. I also won a minor world championship in 2005. As my official results show, I am a has-been these days.

Please take a look at my terminology, so you know the difference between a turn and a twist, for example.

If you are a total beginner, look at this description of the basic Rubik's Cube concepts.

The Basic Idea

Most people solve the cube layer by layer. This is a simple way for the human mind to approach the problem, but it is useless for speed cubing. No matter how good you are, you will use more than 100 moves. Going for speed, I use 55-60 moves on average. Going for few moves, I average 40-45.

The basic problem with the layer method is big, and obvious once you realize it. When you have completed the first layer, you can do nothing without breaking it up. So you break it, do something useful, then restore it. Break it, do something, restore it. Again and again. In a good solution you do something useful all the time. The first layer is in the way of the solution, not a part of it!

Click ▶ for a sample solution.

The Method

The Petrus method has 7 steps:

I also have some tips on the physical and mental aspects of speed cubing.

Algorithm DB

I made a web app database of all 43 million 17 move or less last layer algorithms. It's called Birdflu.

Mail me at cube@lar5.com
This site created March 9 1997.
Last updated May 14 2014 - Change log blog.