Wiltshire March 2024

A total of 45 competitors stepped up to test their memory and spatial awareness in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event at the Olympiad Leisure Centre. The blindfolded discipline demands complete sensory deprivation during execution, forcing solvers to memorize every piece orientation before donning a blindfold to execute complex move sequences entirely from memory. At Wiltshire March 2024, held in Chippenham, Wiltshire, United Kingdom across March 23 and March 24, 2024, Fabio Schwandt proved untouchable in the event, posting a sharp single of 33.83 seconds to seize the victory across two rounds of intense mental focus.

Schwandt was joined on the 3x3x3 Blindfolded podium by Thomas Patterson, who secured second place with a single of 36.65 seconds, and Ben Ridley, who captured third with a mark of 44.01 seconds. The event was only one facet of a versatile showing for Schwandt over the weekend. He went on to win two additional titles at this major WCA competition, taking the 3x3x3 Fewest Moves crown with a low single of 24 moves and claiming the Square-1 gold with a winning average of 9.84 seconds, completed by an 8.87 single.

Across eight events and 17 rounds, the speedcubing gathering brought together 177 competitors in Chippenham. The flagship 3x3x3 Cube contest saw 168 competitors battle through four rounds of classic Rubik's Cube action. When the final 3x3 results were tallied, Danny Morgan clinched the victory with a 7.42 average and a round-best 6.53 single. James Alonso pushed closely behind, taking second place with an average of 7.46 seconds, while Ainesh Sevellaraja earned third place with a 7.71 average.

Alonso found his way to the top of the podium in the 2x2x2 Cube, prevailing over 132 competitors with a winning average of 1.78 seconds and a swift 1.15 single. Caleb Wolf Dunn placed second with a 1.93 average, while Danny Morgan grabbed third with 2.30. In the 2x2x2 Cube preliminary stages, Morgan, Alonso, and Dunn all logged notable marks, with Morgan and Alonso each delivering 1.78 averages and Dunn posting a 1.77 single in the competitive early rounds.

The larger puzzles and specialized events generated sharp competition throughout Wiltshire March 2024. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Eli Jay outpaced 116 solvers across two rounds, locking in first place with a 30.56 average and a best single of 27.77 seconds. Daniel Chiu took second place in 31.61, while Ainesh Sevellaraja secured another podium place in 32.00. Megaminx saw Aidan Grainger dominate the 85-competitor single round with a 30.37 average, well clear of Oliver Richards in 45.17 and Eli Jay in 46.21.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several competitors delivered massive improvements across multiple formats. Emily Hart cut her 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 63.1 percent to 1.80 seconds and took on Square-1 for the first time with a 1:03.21, while also improving her Clock personal best by 24.3 percent to 16.05. PJ Finlayson reduced their 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 62.5 percent down to 1.92 seconds, recorded their first ever attempts at 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a 47 and Square-1 with a 45.22, and achieved a best finish of 25th in Fewest Moves.

Gabriel Sek took on four events, dropping his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 42.3 percent to 2.89 seconds while logging first attempts in Square-1 at 1:09.44 and Clock at 12.99. Gene Ming Yang lowered his 2x2x2 Cube best by 41.8 percent to 2.49 seconds and tackled his first Megaminx solve in 2:29.94. Billy Barwell carved 40.7 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube personal best to hit 10.92, while debuting in 4x4x4 Cube with a 48.20 and 2x2x2 Cube with a 3.48. Owen Liu improved his 3x3x3 Cube best by 35.6 percent to 20.03 seconds and made first attempts in 2x2x2 Cube at 2.28 and 4x4x4 Cube at 1:50.58. Harry Colliver entered seven events, securing 16th in Fewest Moves with an initial attempt of 38, alongside first attempts at Clock in 12.89 and Square-1 in 20.41. Carter Swan brought down their Megaminx mark by 32.5 percent to 1:22.33 across a busy seven-event schedule.

The weekend concluded with competitive showings in the remaining side events at Wiltshire March 2024. Caleb Wolf Dunn claimed the Clock victory with an average of 3.90 seconds and a 2.68 single, edging out Danny Morgan in second at 3.97 and Sam Shaw in third at 5.09. From the memory trials of blindfolded solving to high-tempo speed cubing sprints, the cubing competition in Chippenham demonstrated extraordinary breadth across the entire spectrum of modern puzzle solving.