BLINK and you'll miss it!

Whizz kid Joshua Williams is an expert with a Rubik's cube and is up with some of the fastest in the world being able to solve a 2x2 cube in less than a second.

Joshua can also solve a generic 3x3 Rubik's cube in 27.5 seconds using an advanced algorithm puzzle-solcing method - even though he is still only 11.

Joshua, who is a student at the Stanway School, uses the Fridrich method - or CFOP - where by dividing the puzzle into layers, you solve the cube layer by layer using different methods for each step.

Joshua explained: "What you start by doing is you build a cross on any colour face of the cube and then what you start to do is you pair up different edges.

"Then you place them in their slot, and then you find another edge on the cube.

"You perform one of the 57 algorithms to pair it up, and then you do that with all four corners on the cube.

"Then you perform an algorithm to orient all of the edges and corners of the last layer and then an algorithm to permute the last edges and corners of the last layer.”

Quick handed Joshua took part in the cubing championships in Stevenage and competed in four categories- 3x3, 2x2, pyramix and skewb.

Joshua said: “There were two venues, one for blindfolded cubing and one for normal cubing."

In his first competition, Joshua completed the standard 3x3 cube in 26.27 seconds.

Times are calculated on an average of five attempts with the fastest and slowest solves being removed before making the average.

“I would say my speciality is the 2x2,” he added.

“It’s algorithmically-based. I know around 100 algorithms. The key is not remembering the numbers it’s muscle memory. Muscle memory is much quicker. It takes me around a day to learn a new one.”

Joshua’s interest in cubing started around six months ago, when he came across videos on YouTube of people solving the puzzles.

He said “I watch tutorials on the internet and I have a couple of Rubik's cube books as well.”

Joshua next challenge is a competition in Lincoln and he has his sights set on the UK championships.

Halstead Gazette: