Rubik's 3x3 Example Solves - Feliks Zemdegs

Rubik's 3x3 example solves of Feliks Zemdegs are great for intermediate and advanced cubers. Due to his popularity, a lot of his YouTube viewers range from beginner to expert. Because the majority of the cubers use the white cross, this particular video is intended for them.

Let us read some interesting comments:
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 theWestonian 1 year ago

Wtf kind of U perm is that at 2:54? How are you so fast with U perms like that -__-

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This is just a bluffing question because theWestonian is an expert so probably he wanted to play around with the other commenters.

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imnecessaryevil 6 months ago (edited)

+Tech Genius He was not asking for the algorithm though. What he was asking was how come Zemdegs did such a slow U perm with one hand here in this video keeping in mind the fact that he is generally faster than that. In other words, he thinks that the execution for that specific one handed U perm was slow considering how fast he is at one handed generallly. But he has said it in a way that it is very confusing "Wtf kind of U perm is that at 2:54? How are you so fast with U perms like that". The way he should have put it to avoid confusion should have been "Wtf kind of SLOW U perm is that at 2:54? How are you generally so fast with such SLOW U perms like that"

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This commenter realized that theWestonian was indeed just bluffing. This is a nice explanation after some exchange of comments resulting from theWestonian "confusing" comments.
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Zaid Salaria 8 months ago

Sorry Feliks, but I just don't understand anything that you just did.  Please help me out here.  When I solve  a rubies' cube, I make a white cross, do the white corners, then the second layers of all colors but white and yellow, then solve the yellow, then the corners, and then finish it( counter clockwise of clockwise)   Thanks!

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This one uses a beginner's method because he did not understand the solves. You must learn first CFOP method.

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Shockfox 7 months ago

If you don't like being colour neutral, don't be. There are lots of fast speedcubers who only solve dual colours. Personally I can start with white/yellow, on the other colours I'm really slow. But if you wanna be colour neutral and you like it, just practice, go for the easiest crosses on different colours in each solve and eventually you'll be faster. But being colour neutral won't give you like -5 seconds to your average, look example at Mats Valk, he is very fast, and he solves green and blue colours I think.

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This is a good comment from Shockfox because it is true that you can become an expert even with just being dual opposite color speed solver. In my opinion Feliks expertise on color neutrality is somewhat "genetics" or "inborn". Pattern recognition is a part of abstract reasoning in IQ. It's the same reason why some can learn the cube easily and some can not.
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JDO Tricking 1 year ago

What's the PLL at 07:52

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This is a good question but difficult to answer because of  less recognizable sides of some permutations. Most cubers will make a U-turn for a better view but Feliks recognizes any two sides of the cube. This is a G-perm type 'c'. A good solver should always recognize the permutation on all sides of the cubes. Of course, that is not easy.

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Here is the video:

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Try to study how the experts like Feliks solve the cube and  I hope you learn from the Masters of Rubik's 3x3.

Badmephisto: Tutor of the Masters

Many speed solvers learned from Badmephisto's YouTube tutorials including Rubik's 3x3 champions and record holders. He may not be one of the best cubers but he is a good tutor as shown by his clear presentation of this video. If you are a newbie who wants to learn immediately than I suggest you watch Badmephisto's tutorial videos.

This video is a good start to learn intuitive F2L. You need to master intuitive F2L so that you can execute special cases in all angles of the cube. It also helps you in developing look ahead in your F2L solves because you can "see" clearly how the pieces rotates around the cube. Of course there are also important algorithms that you need to study that are considered "shortcuts" but these somewhat reduce your look ahead style.

The video tutorial has two parts. Take note that he is a mono color cuber (he always solves using the white cross). You can try dual opposite color cross solving and later if you are really serious, you can try color neutrality. It takes a lot of time to practice so I suggest you try to bring your cube whenever possible and solve it while waiting for a school bus or travelling, while talking to a friend, etc. etc.

here are the videos:

"Go Slow and Look Ahead" - Rubik's Practice

To go slow and look ahead is considered to be a dogmatic rule in speed solving rubik's 3x3. How can you get fast times if you go slow? Well, this means that as a beginner you need to turn the cube slow or in such a way that you can "see" the next F2L pair that you will insert.

Feliks' method of tracking F2L pieces is like this: he is looking for the next pair before inserting the current pair. This is better if you can perform the F2L algorithm without thinking or by means of muscle memory. As you improved on your look ahead, try to increase the speed or tps.

If you want to be good in speed solving, then follow Feliks' advice. You must learn to turn the cube slow at first. As shown on this video, 10.77 sec average is slow turning! Try to increase speed while maintaining look ahead.

It is well known that Feliks has reached more than twelve tps. The question is: Is he applying the look ahead rule in his solves? How can he look ahead in such a very fast turning? Therefore the lesson that we can learn from this video is:

"Go fast and look ahead"


Here is the video for the slow turning demo:

Former 3x3 Speedsolve Champion Nakajima is back!

This video shows that Nakajima had realized the importance of  color neutrality by starting to apply dual opposite color cross (white and yellow). He was a mono color solver during his time and this restricted him to few cross possibilities. This home practice video indicates that he is still willing to compete in strong tournaments.

If you want to become a good speed solver, then you need to practice dual color first. There are times when the white cross solution is difficult because of flip edges. If this is the case, then you can try the opposite yellow cross which might be easier. There will be only a slight adjustment in F2L color recognition if you use dual color cross.

Nakajima during his time used to practice the Rubik's cube for three to six hours a day! Imagine how long will it take for an average solver to practice color neutrality.The advantage of a neutral color solver is that he can choose from six colors of the cube whichever is easier and better.


These are the things that we can learn from this video:

• Dual cross color approach is better than mono (because it has more possibilities).
• These two colors should be in opposite direction (for easier F2L recognition).
• You can try color neutrality (if you have the time).
• Don't lose your motivation and be persistent (just like Nakajima).

Here is the video:

Rubik's cube solved in 4.21 seconds!

This video is a good example for learning some techniques on solving the Rubik's cube  if you want to become a very fast solver because here Feliks revealed his method and solution. If you follow the scramble, the first thing you will notice is the connected pair. Feliks never fails to take advantage of this situation. He uses this pair to create an extended cross or a cross with one F2L pair already inserted. Normally, a beginner will use the color white as the color of his cross but surprisingly, in this case he used orange as his cross color. In this scramble, white can also produce an extended cross but he preferred orange because it saved him maybe a couple of turns. On the second layer, you will notice that he used common F2L algorithms that he learned intuitively. On the the third layer he used common OLL algorithm and PLL algorithm. Therefore, the entire solution based on this video is called CFOP method or Cross-F2L-Orientation-Permutation method.

These are the things that you will learn from this video:

• You need to learn how to solve the bottom cross on all colors. Usually as a beginner, you are advised to be consistent on your cross color because it would be easier to familiarize yourself with F2L insertions. Feliks has proven that color neutrality is the best approach in solving the cross because it gives more opportunities of an easy cross solve like this example video.
• You need to learn how to take advantage of connected pair(s) in order to make an extended cross thus reducing the unsolved F2L pairs into three (the first one is already inserted on .the extended cross). It would be better if you can learn how to make a double extended cross thus reducing the unsolved F2L pairs into two.
• You need to learn how to look ahead of your F2l pairs during inspection in order to make a smooth transition from cross to F2L. Feliks wrote that he "saw" the first three pairs. Of course what he meant was he predicted the resulting positions of these three pairs. If you think it is possible to "see" four pairs during inspection then try it!
• You need to learn muscle memorization of OLL and PLL. Of course Feliks was not thinking of these algorithms! As soon as he recognized the resulting OLL (even before finishing the last F2L pair), his hand muscle memory will execute these algorithms.
• You need to execute continuous execution of cross to OLL as if the solutions involved  were just one algorithm. In this video, Feliks paused only for a fraction of a second before PLL execution maybe because the resulting G perm was not easy to recognize. Well, if you can solve the cube from start to finish without any pause then try it! You need to learn to increase your tps or turn per second to more than 12 tps! In this video, Feliks has reached 12.35 tps. Maybe this could only be possible if you can execute every algorithm of F2L, OLL, and PLL in just one second or less. You also need to execute the cross or x-cross in just a second and the resulting F2L pairs in less than 2 seconds (assuming these are practically possible). 

These are the things that I observed on this video but Feliks has also other techniques like OLL and PLL skip including orientation of the top cross during F2L and other techniques that he did not used on this particular solve.

Here is the full video:

This could be one of the best comments on this video:

Lars Larsen 8 months ago

+BlokeOzzie You need to distinguish between "prepared solve" and normal solve. Yes he scrambled it himself, but it's legit because he has never tried that exact scramble before. If he tried the same scramble more than 1 time, it's called prepared solve and not legit..  Of course he could fake and lie about it, but he holds several world records and is by most people considered to be the best cuber ever. Also cubers of his caliber have too much honor and would never fake/cheat... This is real.

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