Taichung Open 2023

Ninety-seven competitors gathered at the Ho Nan Ho Cheng Activity Center on February 11, 2023, for a high-stakes test of precision and speed. In speedcubing disciplines where formats leave no safety net, a single misstep can dismantle an entire round. The mean-of-3 format that defines the 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline offers none of the cushioning found in average-of-5 rounds, where a competitor can discard their worst solve. In blind solving, every attempt counts toward an overall mean, and a single Did Not Finish result instantly removes the possibility of an average.

That unforgiving reality was on full display in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, which drew 30 contenders across two rounds. Chih-Chuan Yang (楊智全) captured victory on the strength of a blistering 24.26 single, even as an incomplete attempt in the sequence meant his winning average registered as DNF. Jia-Hong Lu (陸嘉宏) pushed hard for the top spot with a 24.58 single to secure second place, while Heng Liao (廖衡) earned third with a time of 1:19.88. The tension of memorising and executing entirely unseen highlighted the fine margin between success and elimination at this WCA competition.

Beyond the blindfolded drama, Kai-Wen Wang (王楷文) put together an extraordinary showing across multiple events in Taichung, Taiwan. Wang emerged as the standout performer of Taichung Open 2023, claiming first place across three different categories. In the traditional Rubik's Cube main event, which spanned three rounds and 97 entrants, Wang posted a winning average of 6.39 along with a round-best 5.61 single. Yi-Fan Wu (吳亦凡) took second place with an average of 7.30, while Cheng-Ying Lee (李承穎) secured third with 7.71 to round out the 3x3 results.

Wang continued his winning ways in the 4x4x4 Cube, dominating a field of 71 entrants over two rounds. He registered the fastest single of 21.50 and locked up the gold with a 24.41 average. Yi-Fan Wu earned another silver medal with a 27.10 mark, while Kai-Lun Cheng (鄭凱倫) took third on a 28.33 average. Wang completed his trio of titles in 3x3x3 One-Handed, taking the lone round among 58 solvers with a 12.00 average and a best single of 10.00, edging out He-Ping Zheng (鄭和平) at 12.37 and Ping-Yueh Huang (黃品越) at 12.50.

The remaining events at the cubing competition showcased sharp specialty solving. In Pyraminx, Bo-Yan Wu (吳柏彥) bested 62 entrants across two rounds with a 3.16 average and a 1.90 single, finishing ahead of Cheng-Ying Lee at 3.63 and Yi-Ho Hsueh (薛以和) at 3.76. Hsueh found the top step of the podium in Square-1, leading a 35-person field with a winning average of 7.68 and a single of 5.14. Yen-An Chen (陳彥安) followed closely in second with 7.91, while Shih-Hao Wang (王士豪) placed third with 9.22.

Away from the podium battles, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across the schedule. You-Ru Lee (李宥儒) trimmed significant time across multiple puzzles, slicing his Pyraminx personal best to 5.88, which was 59.6 percent faster than his previous mark of 14.57, while also lowering his 3x3x3 Cube best to 20.27 and his 4x4x4 Cube time to 1:34.60. Po-Jui Huang (黃柏睿) brought his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best down to 36.45, an improvement of 56.6 percent over his previous 1:23.91 mark, alongside a 4.54 personal best in Pyraminx.

Ting-Yu Huang (黃鼎祐) entered six events and logged a 42.27 in Square-1, an improvement of 56.5 percent over 1:37.14, while also recording his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Blindfolded in 3:37.54 and a Pyraminx personal best of 6.60. Yu-Chi Hou (侯宥圻) tackled six categories and posted a 1:33.95 personal best in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, which was 56.4 percent faster than his previous 3:35.51, earning fifth place. Jing-Yuan Wang (王靖淵) entered five events, logging his first ever attempt at Square-1 in 36.44 and cutting his Pyraminx best by 43.2 percent to 6.03, while Tzu-Chuan Lin (林子銓) tackled his first ever attempt at Pyraminx with an 8.48 single and improved his 3x3x3 Cube best to 26.53.

The gathering served as a lively showcase of speed cubing excellence in the region. Local competitors swept all 18 available podium positions, reflecting strong domestic depth across every discipline on the schedule. With 11 rounds completed in a single packed day of competition, Taichung Open 2023 demonstrated the rigorous standards of execution demanded when every fraction of a second reshapes the standings.

在台中市河南河南活動中心內，計時器的蜂鳴聲此起彼落，各路魔術方塊好手齊聚一堂。這場在2023年2月11日舉行的魔術方塊比賽吸引了97位選手報名參賽，現場滿是專注觀察打亂狀態與雙手快速翻轉的俐落身影，賽事節奏緊湊而激烈。

本次 Taichung Open 2023 共設有6個項目與11輪對決，其中最受矚目的三階魔術方塊速擰項目共有97名選手同場競技。在經過三輪漫長考驗後，Kai-Wen Wang (王楷文) 展現出頂級的速擰實力，以平均6.39秒的優異成績勇奪冠軍，並在比賽中刷出5.61秒的單次最快成績。

三階項目的頒獎台競爭極為激烈，Yi-Fan Wu (吳亦凡) 以平均7.30秒拿下亞軍，Cheng-Ying Lee (李承穎) 則以平均7.71秒名列季軍。三人展現了高超的指法與觀察判斷力，精準流暢地完成了每一次復原，為全場觀眾帶來了極具觀賞性的速度對決。

除了三階常規項目之外，Kai-Wen Wang (王楷文) 在四階魔術方塊與單手項目中同樣所向披靡。在71人參賽的四階魔術方塊中，他以平均24.41秒、單次21.50秒的成績奪得第一；而在58人參與的三階單手項目中，他亦繳出平均12.00秒、單次10.00秒的亮眼數據，順利加冕三冠王。

賽事成績表背後記錄著許多選手個人的巨大突破。Bo-Yao Qiu (邱柏堯) 本次挑戰了5個項目，在Square-1項目繳出20.00秒的個人最佳成績，較過往大幅提升了52.1%，在三階單手也創下16.45秒的新紀錄。Tong-Yun Chen (陳彤昀) 迎來了個人在金字塔項目的首次官方嘗試並拿下8.29秒，三階單次成績42.36秒亦比過往進步了27.2%。

參與了2個項目的 Tzu-Yu Lin (林子煜) 迎來了三階單手項目的初次挑戰，寫下24.66秒的紀錄，同時在三階速擰創下13.71秒的個人新高。Ji-Siang Jian (簡季湘) 本次報名6個項目，在三階盲封迎來首次有效成績2分58.05秒，並於Square-1項目取得第9名。Hung-Chun Wang (王竑鈞) 初次挑戰Square-1便繳出34.22秒，三階個人最佳也推進至11.84秒。Jia-En Tsai (蔡家恩) 則在金字塔項目飆出5.91秒，較原先紀錄進步達36.9%。

在其他項目方面，Bo-Yan Wu (吳柏彥) 在金字塔魔術方塊中以平均3.16秒摘下桂冠，Cheng-Ying Lee (李承穎) 以3.63秒位居第二。Square-1項目由 Yi-Ho Hsueh (薛以和) 以平均7.68秒奪得第一，Yen-An Chen (陳彥安) 則以7.91秒緊追在後拿下亞軍。

極具難度的三階盲封項目中，選手必須在無視覺輔助下完全憑記憶復原方塊。Chih-Chuan Yang (楊智全) 頂住壓力，以單次24.26秒的極致發揮奪下該項目冠軍，Jia-Hong Lu (陸嘉宏) 以24.58秒取得第二名，Heng Liao (廖衡) 則以1分19.88秒站上季軍頒獎台。

這場在 Taichung, Taiwan 舉辦的 WCA competition 順利落幕，全數18座獎盃皆由在地選手留在台灣。不論是問鼎三冠的頂尖高手，還是在各項目中刷新個人紀錄的參賽者，都在這場盛會中展現了精湛的指尖技藝與對極限速度的追求。