Mongolian Championship 2023

197 competitors gathered at the Mongolia-Japan Center in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, setting the stage for a massive weekend of speedcubing across 13 events and 27 rounds. Running from September 30 to October 1, 2023, the event delivered an extraordinary display of regional talent. Mongolian solvers captured every single one of the 39 available podium places across the weekend, converting home-turf momentum into a relentless march through the brackets in one of the most decisive national sweeps seen on the World Cube Association circuit.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube competition featured 189 competitors battling through four full rounds of solving. Orgil Otgonbayar emerged on top of the final table, capturing the championship title with a winning average of 8.59 seconds and a tournament-best single solve of 8.03. Myagmardorj Ulziijargal secured second place with an 8.94 average, while Khuslen Gan-Ochir locked down third place with a 9.13 mark. These decisive 3x3 results capped a high-intensity showdown among the fastest Rubik's Cube solvers in the capital city.

Big cubes proved to be a dominant playground for Altanbagana Altangerel, who completed a gold-medal treble across the largest puzzles on the schedule. Altangerel took victory in the 5x5x5 Cube with an average of 1:01.42, including a blistering single of 55.88 seconds. He followed with top honours in the 6x6x6 Cube, recording a winning average of 1:58.90, and rounded out the long-puzzle sweep by taking the 7x7x7 Cube with a 2:55.01 average. In each of those three events, Myagmardorj Ulziijargal and Orgil Otgonbayar took second and third respectively, duplicating the exact top-three finish order.

Khuslen Gan-Ochir mounted an equally formidable campaign in the alternate disciplines, securing multiple tournament titles. Beyond his third-place finish in 3x3x3, Gan-Ochir claimed top spot in Clock with an average of 7.57 seconds, outpacing Ariunsaikhan Erdenebileg (9.14) and Solongo Batsaikhan (10.06). Gan-Ochir also captured the Square-1 crown with a 10.23 average and a single of 6.67, and claimed the Megaminx title with a 50.13 average, establishing unmatched versatility over the two-day cubing competition.

Short-format puzzles drew vast numbers to the tables, headlined by a field of 175 solvers in the 2x2x2 Cube. Temuulen Tserendagva claimed victory with an average of 2.30 seconds, besting Orgil Otgonbayar (2.54) and Gegeenbileg Naranchimeg (3.08). In the Pyraminx, Amarsanaa Enkhbaatar topped a lineup of 138 competitors to win with an average of 2.86. The Skewb title went to Uuganbayar Bayalagnasan, who averaged 3.67 across five solves to edge out Erkhemkhishig Batmunkh (4.68) and Ononmur Unubold (5.42).

Beyond the championship podiums, the official WCA competition saw massive breakthroughs from participants making remarkable leaps in solving efficiency. Ninjin Davaanyam produced one of the most dramatic drops of the tournament, taking down their Pyraminx personal best to 4.93 seconds, an improvement of 75.4 percent over their prior mark of 20.08, while also tackling the 2x2x2 Cube for the first time with a 7.36 solve. Ryan Abbott chopped 62.7 percent off their Pyraminx record to register 4.78 seconds and logged first ever attempts in Clock at 17.62 and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 25.98.

The progress continued across the registration list as Tsagaadai Munkh-Erdene took 59.6 percent off their 2x2x2 Cube best with a 4.92 and improved their 3x3x3 Cube time by 42.4 percent down to 21.36. Ochir-Erdene Tsogtdelger carved 59.8 percent off their 2x2x2 Cube mark with a 4.71, and Chingun Altanbagana registered a 5.52 in Pyraminx, 54.2 percent quicker than before. Ireedui Battumur posted a 35.00 in 3x3x3 Cube, an improvement of 52.3 percent, alongside new event debuts in Pyraminx and 2x2x2 Cube. Boldbayar Nyamdorj made a debut in the 4x4x4 Cube while slicing 43.9 percent off their Skewb best down to 7.74, and Baljinnyam Namsraijav dropped their Pyraminx best by 30.8 percent to 5.60 while taking on five events.

Specialist solving events brought dramatic drama to the tables in Ulaanbaatar. Sukh-Erdene Mandakh took victory in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, logging a winning single of 47.64 seconds to lead Bilguun Soyolbaatar (2:00.88) and Tserendorj Nyam-Ochir (2:04.83). In 3x3x3 One-Handed, Bilguun Soyolbaatar stepped up to claim first place outright with a 16.78 average, while Myagmardorj Ulziijargal won the 4x4x4 Cube in 33.37 seconds.

The Mongolian Championship 2023 concluded as an emphatic celebration of domestic speed cubing excellence and depth. With 39 podium placements swept entirely by local solvers and personal records tumbling throughout every tier of the 197-person roster, the weekend in Ulaanbaatar provided a benchmark showing for the national scene as attention turns toward the next season of competition.