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3x3x3 Fewest Moves - cheat sheet

WCA rules (art. E) and techniques from the course. White on top, green in front. Full course with animations and simulator: strefa-kostek.pl/en/kursy

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1WCA rules (art. E)

  • 60 minutes to find and write down a solution; after 55 min “5 MINUTES REMAINING”, after 60 “STOP”. You may hand it in earlier.
  • You hand in one sheet with the solution and your competitor details (full name, WCA ID or number) - without them, DNF.
  • Allowed: paper and the solution sheet from the judge, the scramble image, pens, correction fluid, up to 3 of your own cubes, stickers, a watch (with the Delegate's permission). No phone, headphones or your own notes.
  • Result = number of moves (OBTM). Formats: Best of 1, Best of 2 or Mean of 3 (one DNF = DNF mean).
  • DNF: cube not solved, ambiguous notation (asterisks, arrows, several solutions), a move outside WCA notation, over 80 moves including rotations, a solution derived from the scramble (e.g. the first 4 moves = the inverse scramble).

2Counting moves

R R' R2 = 1 move

Rw (or 2Rw) = 1 move

x y z = 0 moves, but they count towards the 80 limit

R R = 2 moves - write R2

M E S - not allowed; M = R L' x'

r is read by the judge as R; R2' = R2; brackets and other characters are ignored.

The cube stays white on top, green in front the whole time - no rotations in the notation.

3Solution plan

  • 2x2x2 block - around any of the 8 corners, usually 4-6 moves. Look for ready-made pairs.
  • 2x2x3 block - in one of 3 directions, 4-7 moves. The free faces don't break the block.
  • F2L-1 - two layers minus one slot, anywhere on the cube.
  • Skeleton - all edges solved, 3 corners left.
  • Insertion - a commutator at the point in the skeleton where it cancels the most.
  • Cancellations - R + R = R2, R + R' = nothing, also across a move of the opposite face.

4Corner commutator

A X A' X': X = a turn of one layer, A = 3 moves that swap only one corner in that layer.

R U R' D R U' R' D'
DFR, DFL, UFR

R U' R' D R U R' D'
DFR, DFL, UFL

R U R' D2 R U' R' D2
DFR, DBL, UFR

B R' B' L' B R B' L
DBL, UBL, DFR

Doesn't fit? Setup (1 move), commutator, undo the setup. Opposite direction: X A X' A'.

5Where to insert

  • Mark the 3 unsolved corners with stickers.
  • Scramble again and go through the skeleton move by move.
  • At each point check whether the marked corners fit a commutator you know.
  • Choose the point with the biggest cancellation; only the final sequence goes on the sheet, without brackets.

6Inverse scramble (NISS)

  • Inverse scramble = in reverse order, each move in the opposite direction.
  • A solution to the inverse, read backwards, solves the normal one (same number of moves).
  • Moves from the inverse (inverted) = premoves: do them on a solved cube, then the scramble, keep searching - and add them at the end of the solution.

760-minute plan

  • 0-15 starts on the normal and inverse scramble, write down 2-3.
  • 15-35 F2L-1 and skeleton.
  • 35-50 insertion.
  • 50-60 write out a clean copy, count, check on a second cube.
  • A backup solution by minute 40 at the latest.
Result = moves in OBTM: a face turn and a two-layer move (Rw) count as 1, rotations x, y, z as 0. At most 80 moves including rotations. Notation without M, E, S; lowercase r means R. StrefaKostek.pl