For the first time in history, Kazakhstan is hosting the WCA Asian Speedcubing Championship, which will be held in Nur-Sultan on August 12-14, QazMonitor reports citing Inform.kz. The championship includes over 10 disciplines, including classic Rubik's cube speed solving.
In addition to the competitive part of the championship, speedcubers will assemble the portraits of the world-famous Kazakh singer Dimash Kudaibergen and Kazakh professional boxer Gennady Golovkin.
The tournament is attended by 116 speedcubers from 13 countries, including Japan, China, India, and Mongolia. This year, the participants of the championships are all aged 18-20 years. The tournament will run until August 14.
The main prize is a Baiterek-shaped cup. Winners will also be awarded medals. The World Cube Association WCA (World Cube Association) has allocated a $9,000 prize fund to participants.
One of the founders of the World Cube Association Ron van Bruchen noted that in the year of the establishment of the federation in Kazakhstan, there were much fewer speedcubers in the country than now.
Today, the number of professional Kazakh speedcubers has already passed the mark of 1,000 people. In 2017, there were only 16 of them.
The Big Opportunities of the Little Puzzle
One of the participants in the tournament is a 15-year-old speedcuber Daniyal Arstambek, who, at a young age, can boast amazing results in assembling the Rubik's cube. In 2019, he won second place in the championship in Dubai.
This year, he is taking part in the Asian Speedcubing Championship in several disciplines. He set a goal to solve a pyramid in a few seconds.
During the press conference for the championship, the young player presented his first book "No Limit. The Big Possibilities of the Little Puzzle". Daniyal dedicated the book to his grandmother Zeinekul, who taught him to overcome difficulties and always supported Cuber's endeavors.
I started writing the book when I was 12 years old. At first, I just wrote what I was thinking about. When my grandmother saw my notes, she suggested that I write a book. In this book, I talk about the evolution of the cube, how speedcubing emerged, why it became possible to assemble puzzles in seconds (in some disciplines even less than one second), and the average portrait of a speed puzzle assembly enthusiast. From this book, you will learn all this and more, including the history of the little puzzle, which united the whole world and gave it great opportunities.
The book consists of one hundred pages, and there are 50 copies available at the moment. It will be exhibited at the Asian speedboating championships. Daniyal wants to donate part of the proceeds from the sale to support and develop speedcubing in Kazakhstan.
In a comment to QazMonitor, Daniyal said that his favorite chapters are the ones on the Kazakh Speedcubing Federation, and the founder of the world association Ron van Bruchem.
Speed-cubing has not only been a source of entertainment for the prodigy - it is a way to develop the mind and logic.
"I can say that thanks to speedcubing, I always think one step ahead. Even now, during an interview, I can predict what questions journalists may ask. Acquired skills helped me graduate 9th grade on an honor roll. When I started to get into cube assembling, my mother scolded me because took a lot of my time. Over time she put up with it and even began to support me. When I started winning contests, she was very surprised. I didn't expect such results myself," the young speedcuber added.
