Chongqing Open 2023

The floor of the Datianwan Fitness Center in the Yuzhong District hummed with energy as timers flashed and hardware clicked throughout the single-day tournament. Rows of solving stations stayed occupied from the morning onwards, with competitors pacing their warmups while judges cycled scorecards across the competition floor. The brisk atmosphere inside the arena set the tone for a full schedule where every second determined who advanced through the brackets.

Held in Chongqing, China on November 18, the Chongqing Open 2023 brought together 193 competitors across five distinct events. The tournament structure packed 11 rounds into the day, placing heavy pressure on participants across multi-stage formats. In the marquee 3x3x3 Cube event, a massive field of 190 competitors had to navigate three rigorous rounds to reach the final podium, leaving very little margin for error during the qualification stages.

When the dust settled in the premier event, Yiheng Wang captured the title with a world-class winning average of 4.98 seconds, backed by a best single of 4.67. Yufang Du took second place with an average of 6.21, while Lingkun Jiang secured third on the podium at 6.35. The elite standard displayed throughout the 3x3 results underscored the depth of talent navigating the three-round gauntlet on the classic Rubik's Cube.

The 2x2x2 Cube event presented its own intense format, narrowing down a field of 125 competitors across two fast-paced rounds. Jiazhou Li emerged victorious by putting together a decisive 1.21 winning average alongside a blistering 0.61 best single. Yiheng Wang finished as runner-up with an average of 1.34, and Anjunyi Zeng earned third place at 1.70. This speedcubing discipline demanded flawless consistency across five solves with virtually no reset time between turns.

Beyond the podium battles, several participants made huge breakthroughs across their individual events during this cubing competition. Yuhan Peng delivered one of the most remarkable jumps of the tournament in the 3x3x3 Cube, lowering their personal best down to 7.24 seconds, an improvement of 86 percent over their previous best of 51.83. Qinghan Yang also logged major progress, dropping their 3x3x3 Cube mark to 8.72 seconds, which was 44.1 percent faster than their prior 15.60 best, while also taking on their first ever official attempts in 2x2x2 Cube with a 4.96 single and Pyraminx with a 5.10 mark.

Expanding repertoire across multiple formats was a recurring theme for competitors testing their skills under tournament conditions. Cheng Chi Tong tackled four events, setting personal benchmarks with a first ever attempt of 8.37 in Pyraminx, a first 4x4x4 Cube attempt of 1:03.02, and an improved 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 2.42 that was 46.1 percent faster than their prior 4.49. Zhaoxuan Guan recorded maiden tries in Pyraminx at 8.06 and 4x4x4 Cube at 47.65 while improving their 2x2x2 Cube single to 2.27, a 22.3 percent drop. Yuhan Gu completed first attempts in Pyraminx at 6.91 and 2x2x2 Cube at 4.23 while lowering their 3x3x3 Cube best by 16.8 percent to 8.22. Yunhui Zhao took on four events, securing 11th place in 4x4x4 Cube, posting a first Pyraminx attempt of 3.90, improving in 2x2x2 Cube to 2.44 by 37.8 percent, and advancing their 3x3x3 Cube best to 8.24 by 17.9 percent.

The four-layer puzzle saw Hua Huang master the two-round format among 75 competitors in the 4x4x4 Cube, posting a winning average of 26.22 along with the round low single of 20.50 seconds. Jiazhou Li returned to the podium to claim silver with an average of 30.79, closely followed by Fangrui Zeng who posted a 31.04 mark for bronze.

Specialist categories rounded out the intense schedule of the Chongqing Open 2023. In the Pyraminx, Lingkun Jiang topped the 72-person field with a winning average of 1.50 and a single of 1.40, finishing ahead of Jiazhou Li at 2.05 and Shengze Tang at 2.13. Meanwhile, the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event demanded total concentration across its two rounds of memorisation and execution. Yifan Wang won the event among 34 entrants with an average of 18.93 and a best single of 18.00, besting Xin Shi who averaged 24.99 and Hongjie Zhang who took third with a 25.47 average.

With 15 podium places earned by competitors representing China, the single-day event highlighted the extraordinary precision required at a premier WCA competition. From rapid-fire speed cubing sprints to the mental endurance demanded by blindfolded solving, the tournament delivered outstanding marks across all five disciplines in the 2023 season.

在Chongqing, China的Datianwan Fitness Center, Yuzhong District，2023年11月18日迎来了紧张激烈的魔方赛事。赛场内计时器的提示音与还原魔方的清脆转动声交织，来自各地的193名选手在此展开角逐，令整个场馆沉浸在魔方竞速的专注氛围中。

本次Chongqing Open 2023共设5个项目，进行了11轮的比拼。高阶魔方项目极其考验选手的空间思维、体能储备与长时间的高度专注。在四阶魔方赛场上，选手们展现了扎实的还原功底，每一组转动和观察都体现出对细节的精准把控。

四阶魔方项目的金牌最终由Hua Huang (黄华)夺得，他以26.22秒的平均成绩和20.50秒的单次最快成绩登顶。Jiazhou Li (李佳洲)以30.79秒的平均成绩获得亚军，Fangrui Zeng (曾方锐)以31.04秒的平均成绩位列第三。

三阶魔方作为速拧界最受瞩目的项目，共有190名选手参与。Yiheng Wang (王艺衡)在决赛中表现出色，以4.98秒的优异平均成绩夺冠，其最快单次成绩达到4.67秒。Yufang Du (杜昱方)以6.21秒的平均成绩摘银，Lingkun Jiang (姜凌坤)以6.35秒的平均成绩收获铜牌。

赛场上不仅有顶尖高手的较量，更有许多默默突破自我的参赛者。Wenzhi Zhang (张文智)参加了1个项目，在三阶魔方中斩获28.39秒的个人最好成绩，较此前的1:19.79大幅提升了64.4%。Yetao Ma (马烨韬)出战3个项目，四阶魔方拿下40.25秒的个人最好成绩，比之前的1:27.60提升了54.1%，其三阶魔方也以8.94秒刷新个人最好成绩，提速21.4%。Taiqi Li (李泰祺)参与了全部5个项目，二阶魔方取得2.56秒的个人最好成绩，比原纪录5.70秒快了55.1%，三阶魔方以8.30秒提速30%，四阶魔方以1:03.57提速20.3%。

挑战新项目的选手同样亮眼。Yi Qu (曲熠)参与3个项目，完成了二阶魔方的首次正式尝试并取得3.93秒，其三阶盲拧以2:01.37将个人最好成绩提升39.9%，三阶速拧亦以13.70秒刷新纪录。Yu Fu (付煜)报名5个项目，在三阶盲拧中完成首秀并收获3:38.68，其金字塔魔方以5.42秒提速29.2%，二阶魔方以3.27秒提速13%。Wei Li (李伟)参加4个项目，首次尝试金字塔魔方即拿下5.16秒，二阶魔方以3.67秒提速27.9%，三阶魔方则以13.38秒将个人成绩提升8%。

在其他项目的对决中，Jiazhou Li (李佳洲)在二阶魔方决赛中以1.21秒的平均成绩夺得冠军，Yiheng Wang (王艺衡)以1.34秒位列第二，Anjunyi Zeng (曾安儁逸)以1.70秒夺得第三名。金字塔魔方决赛中，Lingkun Jiang (姜凌坤)以1.50秒的平均成绩夺魁，Jiazhou Li (李佳洲)以2.05秒位居次席，Shengze Tang (唐圣泽)以2.13秒排名第三。

三阶盲拧项目对选手的记忆力与空间还原技巧提出了严苛要求。Yifan Wang (王逸帆)凭借18.93秒的平均成绩与18.00秒的单次成绩斩获该项目桂冠。Xin Shi (石欣)以24.99秒取得亚军，Hongjie Zhang (张鸿杰)以25.47秒收获季军。在本次WCA competition的所有项目中，中国选手包揽了全部15个领奖台席位。

随着所有轮次尘埃落定，Chongqing Open 2023圆满结束。无论是高阶魔方的长久对弈，还是短途速拧的毫秒争夺，这场魔方比赛为选手们留下了充实的竞技记忆，也让人期待他们在下一个赛季赛场上的全新表现。