San Marino Nationals 2023

The 3x3x3 Cube final provided the headline drama at San Marino Nationals 2023, where Daniel Sartori emerged victorious with a 7.92-second average. His winning performance, anchored by a blistering 5.55-second best single, edged out Giacomo Daniele Corò, who also clocked a 7.92 average but fell short on the tiebreaker. Flavio Rimi secured third place with an 8.89 average, completing an all-Italian podium. The Centro Congressi Kursaal in Città di San Marino, San Marino, provided a fitting stage on May 7, 2023, as 38 competitors gathered for a focused day of speedcubing across six events.

While the standard Rubik's Cube drew the most competitors, the larger puzzles demanded relentless consistency. In the mean-of-3 format used for the 6x6x6 Cube, a single mistake is mathematically ruinous. Bence Barát of Hungary navigated this pressure flawlessly, winning the 6x6x6 Cube with a 1:43.54 average and a 1:38.51 best single. He triumphed over Joel Cetra of Germany and Luca Brasini of Italy. Barát also conquered the 5x5x5 Cube, taking first place with a 59.53-second average and a 56.89 best single, again demonstrating his mastery over the big cubes at this WCA competition.

Flavio Rimi added a gold medal to his weekend haul by winning the 4x4x4 Cube. Rimi posted a 31.76-second average and a 28.88 best single to secure the victory, ahead of Luca Brasini and Daniel Sartori. The 4x4x4 event requires a delicate balance of speed and look-ahead, as solvers build centers and pair edges before entering the final 3x3 stage. Rimi executed this transition smoothly, outperforming the field of 33 competitors to claim the top spot on the podium at San Marino Nationals 2023.

The Megaminx event saw Marco Guarasci take the title with a 54.60-second average, narrowly defeating Enrico Tenuti by just two-hundredths of a second. Guarasci’s best single of 46.92 highlighted his proficiency on the twelve-sided puzzle, which tests a competitor's ability to locate pieces across a complex color scheme. The 3x3x3 One-Handed event tested dexterity and one-handed turning techniques, with Marco Giordano winning the title. Giordano averaged 15.82 seconds, highlighted by a 14.36 single, finishing ahead of Flavio Rimi and Paolo Marino in a tightly contested final.

Beyond the podium battles, the results table reveals the quiet victories of personal improvement. Christian Ceccaroni entered three events and delivered a massive leap forward, setting a Megaminx personal best of 2:53.02, slashing 28.4% off his previous mark. He also dropped his 3x3x3 One-Handed best to 52.07, a 14.3% improvement. Oscar Luigi M. Gravador recorded a first-ever official attempt at Megaminx with a 3:36.05 solve, while also setting a 5x5x5 Cube personal best of 2:01.88, which was 9.4% faster than his prior record. Josuè Pangrazzi tackled five events, highlighted by a 6x6x6 Cube personal best of 4:20.44, slicing 21.9% off his previous best.

The wave of personal bests continued down the standings. Boyang Zhang (张博洋) achieved a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 17.77, a 9% improvement, and lowered his 4x4x4 Cube best to 50.82. Federica Duò set a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 17.32, marking a 7.5% gain, while establishing a 5x5x5 Cube mark of 2:14.96. Leonardo Brandolini achieved his best finish of 9th in the 3x3x3 Cube and set a 4x4x4 Cube personal best of 54.63. Francesco Costa recorded his first-ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 47.70, and Elisa Gasperotti secured a 17th-place finish in Megaminx while posting a personal best of 1:23.23.

The overall 3x3 results across the early rounds showcased the depth of the field. Thibaut Mézières of France posted a solid 10.69 single and an 11.31 average in the 3x3x3 Cube, while Arttu Puttonen of Finland clocked a 9.45 single and a 10.95 average. Damiano Di Paola and Fabian Tomasović also registered strong times in the 3x3x3 rounds, reflecting the high standard of speed cubing on display throughout the day. The competition required intense focus from the 38 competitors, who navigated up to 10 rounds of official solving.

By the close of San Marino Nationals 2023, the event had delivered a comprehensive test of solving skill across the six different puzzles. Italy dominated the medal table with 13 podium placements, while Germany and Hungary also secured multiple top-three finishes. The combination of intense head-to-head racing in the 3x3x3 events and the grueling consistency required in the mean-of-3 big cube formats made for a memorable weekend in the small European nation, setting a high bar for the remainder of the 2023 cubing competition season.