Solving a Rubik’s Cube needs spatial intelligence, muscle memory and deft hand speed. We take you to one such “solving station”, and what happens next in this edition of truly magic
There is a blanket of silence in the room, and is quickly broken by the noise of other cubes. The timer triggers and you see a pair of lean fingers vigorously twisting, rotating and manipulating the cube with machine-like speed and accuracy. There are probably a few hundred algorithms running through that brain. The vast library of reckoning algorithms are enough to fit into the memory of a super computer.
Kabyanil Talukdar, a boy who, until, very recently, held the world record for solving the Rubik’s Cube fastest, blindfolded. He is a part of a group dedicated to ‘speed cubing’ in Mumbai, called SCMU (Speed Cubing Mumbai Limited), which was set up in 2011.
This year’s edition of their annual competition was recognized by the World Cube Association as being Asia’s largest competition and the world’s 8th largest competition.
The 15-year-old from Guwahati is happy after winning gold at the Rubik’s Cube World Championship held at Sao Paulo in this year.
He became a world champion in 3*3 Rubik’s Cube blind folded category with a timing of 24.86 seconds.
The Championship was organized under the aegis of World Cube Association.
Kabyanil, who also plays chess, developed an interest in Rubik’s cube in 2012 during a train journey from Delhi. Since then, he has gone on to win many national accolades in the game.
Kabyanil said that the competition at the championship was tough.
“This competition was the toughest in my whole career. I have been associated with this game for two and half years. In the last world championship, I was not able to solve the cube blindfolded but this time in Sao Paulo, I won the event. So, it was quite successful for me,” he said.
The game which is relatively new has a huge scope for becoming popular as it doesn’t require much investment and is a good mental exercise as well.
Kabyanil has also been organizing workshops and competitions in the city to popularize the game among youngsters.
Kabyanil’s father, Hariprashad Talukdar, urged the youth to take up such sport.
“If every parents started buying Rubik cubes for their kids, it will be really good as there is not much financial involvement but it is a good mental exercise. Children waste their time by playing games on mobile /computer or watching cartoons on television,” he said.
“Instead of that if they practice this for 1-2 hours every day, it will develop their mental stamina and benefit students a lot,” he added.
Youth in the Northeast display a natural inclination towards a variety of sports and have been bringing laurels for the country.
Achievers like Kabyanil also serve as an inspiration for the youngsters in the region. (ANI)
