Astana Open 2023

Inside the competition hall at Haileybury Astana School, the sound of rhythmic turning echoed as twenty-four competitors gathered for two days of rigorous puzzle solving. Over the weekend of December 9 to December 10, the venue hosted nineteen distinct rounds across thirteen official disciplines. While fleeting single solves often catch the eye, this cubing competition in Astana, Kazakhstan, proved that true mastery comes from disciplined repetition. Speedcubing success requires steady hands and reliable execution across every attempt, and the 2023 staging showed that composed averages consistently dictated the top of the standings.

The premier event delivered a textbook display of composed solving. In the final round of the classic Rubik's Cube, Andrey Che earned top honors by putting together a gold-winning average of 7.17 seconds alongside a best single of 6.31 seconds. Damir Zhanataev secured the second podium spot with an average of 7.93 seconds, while Nurassyl Kurmangali took third place with an 8.81 average. Across three full rounds featuring twenty-three participants, these 3x3 results rewarded the competitors who avoided major errors and maintained rock-solid pace from start to finish.

Che continued to control the table across the shorter formats, emphasizing smooth execution over erratic bursts of speed. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Che captured the title with an average of 2.33 seconds, besting Nurassyl Kurmangali who finished second with a 4.08 average and Askar Shakhman in third with a 4.79. Che also dominated 3x3x3 One-Handed with an 11.18 winning mark, Pyraminx with a 2.83 average, and Skewb with a 4.02 average. In Skewb, Shakhman followed in second at 4.70, while Zhanataev rounded out the podium at 6.79.

The mid-size puzzles told a similar story of unwavering control. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Andrey Che earned victory with an average of 33.39 seconds, and in the 5x5x5 Cube, he posted a 55.68 average to take first over Beksultan Tleukanov at 1:11.36 and Daniyal Suleimen at 1:13.78. Che added two more titles with a 7.75 average in Clock, closely pursued by Suleimen at 7.83 and Zhanataev at 11.01, and a 45.25 average to take top honors in Megaminx. Across ten separate events, Che secured victories by building reliable, rock-solid five-solve distributions.

Beyond the top of the standings, the heart of the speed cubing gathering lived in the personal milestones achieved across the venue floor. Philipp Radinskiy took on eleven separate events, claiming a 4th-place finish in Clock while setting personal bests in Pyraminx at 4.61 seconds, which was 26.8 percent faster, and Megaminx at 2:16.90, improving by 20.6 percent, alongside his first ever attempt at the 5x5x5 Cube at 2:26.22. Lev Golaev delivered large improvements, cutting his Pyraminx mark to 6.09 seconds, 22.4 percent faster, and his Clock mark to 16.83 seconds, 20.5 percent faster. Bogdan Kashin improved his Pyraminx personal best to 7.62 seconds, 18.2 percent faster, while Akhmet Sailauuly shaved 16.2 percent off his 3x3x3 mark to reach 17.40 seconds and logged his first ever attempt in Pyraminx at 11.57.

First-time events provided meaningful benchmarks for several other dedicated solvers throughout the weekend. Arsenii Borovkov competed in ten events, logging a 4th-place finish in Skewb, his first ever attempt in Skewb at 3.47 seconds, and his first ever attempts in Square-1 at 35.06 and 6x6x6 Cube at 8:04.16. Nayl Maksut stepped forward for nine disciplines, earning 6th place in Square-1 while registering first career marks in 5x5x5 Cube at 5:31.45, Square-1 at 42.04, and Clock at 20.88. Bahtiyar Karabalin entered eleven events, setting a 5x5x5 Cube best of 1:22.76, which was 13.7 percent faster, and finishing 4th in 7x7x7 Cube. Alnazar Soldatkhanuly embraced their first WCA competition by recording initial marks in the 3x3x3 Cube at 1:04.64 and the 2x2x2 Cube at 24.48.

Specialized disciplines showcased the depth of the regional field, as Damir Zhanataev collected two premier gold finishes. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, which demands total concentration and flawless memorization, Zhanataev won with an average of 1:17.54, finishing ahead of Maxim Chechnev at 1:54.35 and Ruslan Romanenko at 3:12.57. Zhanataev also conquered the largest puzzle of the schedule, winning the 7x7x7 Cube with an average of 3:53.08 over Danil Zuev at 3:56.51 and Beksultan Tleukanov at 4:08.95. In Square-1, Damir Issakov topped the field with a sharp winning average of 10.34 seconds.

Che secured his tenth title of the weekend in the 6x6x6 Cube, recording a winning average of 1:52.58 to finish clear of Damir Zhanataev at 2:32.08 and Beksultan Tleukanov at 2:33.92. When the final medals were awarded, competitors from Kazakhstan gathered twenty-six podium places, while entrants representing Russia claimed thirteen. The closing rounds of Astana Open 2023 celebrated a weekend defined by composure under pressure, where steady consistency remained the decisive factor from the biggest cubes down to the fastest sprints.