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M2/R2blindcubingmethods

Wetten,dass..?vom5.November
UpdateOctober20,2011:Replacedsomecorneralgorithms.
Update2:Iaddedmoreexamples.
Update1:Ifixedsomeminorissuesandaddedthehistorysection.
InJanuary2006,Idevelopedanewmethodforsolvingthe3x3edgesblindfoldedandbrieflydescribedearly
versionsintheblindcubingyahoogroup.SincethenIhaveimprovedthemethod,adapteditforsolvingcorners
(firstitwasonlyforedges)anduseditincompetitions.Sighted,i.e.usingthemethodinregularspeedsolving,I
averagealittleunder50seconds.I'mconvincedwithmemorizationandgoodrecalla40secondsrealaverage
forexecutionispossible.ThispagebrieflydescribesthetwomethodswhichIcallM2(foredges)andR2(for
corners).
Here'sanexamplesolve,thescrambleisB'R'
B'U'FL'UF2LFR'D'R'BDF2L2D'R2D'
andthesolutionisontheright.Clickonthe
imagetowatchthevideo.

Thisisaneasysolvejusttoshowthecoreidea.
Itdoesnotincludeoddparity,breakingintonew
cycles,andcleaningupmisorientedpieces.
Though,everyonceinawhile,youmight
indeedgetasolvelikethis.

Target

Algorithm

FR

URU'M2UR'U'

UL

LU'L'UM2U'LUL'

RB

lU'R'UM2U'RUl'

DB

MU2MU2

LD

x'ULU'M2UL'U'x

RU

x'U'RUM2U'R'Ux

UB

M2

DR

UR2U'M2UR2U'

DB

MU2MU2

FL

U'L'UM2U'LU

BLD

U'LUR2U'L'U

FLU

R'ULU'R2UL'U'R

RBD

(R'UR2U'R'F'RUR2U'R'F)

ULB

L'U'LUR2U'L'UL

UBR

R2

FDL

U'L'UL'U'LUR2U'L'ULU'LU

Themainideaisthesameasformyoldermethod,namelysolvingonepieceatatime,with"solving"meaning
thewholepiece,i.e.,Idon'tseparateorientingandpermuting.Letmefirsttalkaboutedges.Noticeyoushould
thinkintermsofstickers.WhenIsayLU,ImeantheLpart,whenIsayUL,ImeantheUpart.
Edges
Tosolveoneedgeatatime,IuseplaceDFas"buffer"andswapthe
edgecurrentlyinthatplacetowhereitbelongs.Iuseoneswap
algorithmwhichswapsDFwithUB.ToswapDFwithanotheredge,I
firstbringthatedgetoUBwithsetupmoves,thenapplytheswap,then
undothesetupmoves.
Sinceit'simpossibletojustswaptwopiecesandnotchangeanything
elseonthecube,Idohavetohavesomesideeffect.Myswapalgorithm
actuallyisonlyanM2move,sothesideeffectisarotationoftheMslice
centersandswappingtheFUandBDedges,thoughIjustthinkof

Target

Algorithm

UB
BU

M2
M2

FR
DR
BR
UR

URU'M2UR'U'
UR2U'M2UR2U'
UR'U'M2URU'
R'URU'M2UR'U'R

FL
DL
BL

U'L'UM2U'LU
U'L2UM2U'L2U
U'LUM2U'L'U

solvingthesetworelativetothecenters,sothey'renotreallyswapped
(relativetothecenterstheystaywheretheyare).Itonlymattersfor
choosingthealgorithmsforthesetwoedges,thinkofthe"target"telling
youwheretheedgebelongs*before*thealgorithm.Soforexampleif
youtargetFUthen*after*thealgtheedgewillactuallyendupatBD.
ObviouslyIcalledit"M2method"becauseoftheprominentM2move.I
actuallydoitasL(l'M')likeJoelvanNoortoncesuggested,withmyleft
ringfingerpullingtheM'.Thealgorithms(seerightside)shouldbevery
easytounderstandandareveryfast,thesetupmovesdon'tfeel
separated.
FortheMsliceedgesIusethesamealgorithmforbothorientations.I
mightendupwithsomeflippedMedgesbutthat'snottoobad(asyou'll
seelater).Thealternativeistouselongeralgorithmsforhalfofthe
cases.

UL

LU'L'UM2U'LUL'

RU
RF
RD
RB

x'U'RUM2U'R'Ux
x'U'R2UM2U'R2Ux
x'U'R'UM2U'RUx
lU'R'UM2U'RUl'

LU
LF
LD
LB

x'UL'U'M2ULU'x
x'UL2'U'M2UL2U'x
x'ULU'M2UL'U'x
r'ULU'M2UL'U'r

DB
BD
UF
FU

MU2MU2
MU2MU2
U2M'U2M'
U2M'U2M'

Nowthecorners,verysimilar.
Corners
Thisisreallyverymuchliketheedges,onlythat
thingsarehappeningintheRsliceinsteadoftheM
slice.IsolvethecorneratDFRbyswappingitto
UBRwiththe"algorithm"R2.Thesideeffectisa
rotationoftheRslice"centers"(whichareedge
pieces),andURFandDRBstaywheretheywere
relativetotheRslicecenters.
TargetsoutsidetheRslice(i.e.,intheLslice)get
swappedwithDFRafterbringingthemtoUBRwith
setupmoves.
TargetsinsidetheRslicehavespecialalgs,andfor
UBRIsimplyuseR2foreveryorientationsothatit'll
likelyendupmisorientedwhichIfixattheend(you'll
seeitsoon).Update:nottrueanymore,Inowuse
thegivenalgsforBRUandRUB.
Ofcourse,feelfreetouseotheralgs,especiallyfor
FURandBDRyoumightlikeApermplusR2better.

Target

Algorithm

UBR
BRU
RUB

R2
U'L'ULU'L'UR2U'LUL'U'LU
U'LUL'U'LUR2U'L'ULU'L'U

BLD
ULB
DLF
FLU

U'LUR2U'L'U
L'U'LUR2U'L'UL
U'L2UR2U'L2U
R'ULU'R2UL'U'R

LBU
LUF
LFD
LDB

U'L'UR2U'LU
L'U'L'UR2U'LUL
L2'U'L'UR2U'LUL2'
LU'L'UR2U'LUL'

BUL
DBL
FDL
UFL

yRUR2U'R'F2RUR2U'R'y'
U'L2UL'U'LUR2U'L'ULU'L2U
U'L'UL'U'LUR2U'L'ULU'LU
LU'L'UL'U'LUR2U'L'ULU'LUL'

RBD
BDR
DRB

(R'UR2U'R'F'RUR2U'R'F)
(RUR'Dr2U')(RUr2'U')(D'R)
(R2U'R'F')(rUR2'U')(r'F)(R'U)

RFU
URF
FUR

(F'RUR2U'R'FRUR2'U'R)
U'(RF'rUR2U')(r'FRUR2')
(R2'U'rx)(l2'ULU')(R'U)(L'U'L')(R'U)

Somecommentsonmemorizationandwhyit'sespeciallygoodforM2/R2tomemorizetargetsinpairs.
Memorization
Itranslatepiecestomentalimages,forexampleDRandDRBcouldbeDonaldDuck,becauseD=white
andR=blueforme.However,fortheM2andR2methodsit'sveryhelpfultomemorizeinpairs,two
targetsinarowtogether.Toknowwhichtargetcomesfirst,Itranslatethefirsttoaperson(e.g.,Donald
Duck)andthesecondtoanaction(e.g.,vomiting).Soforeachcolorpair,Ihavebothapersonandan
action.
ThisisverygoodfortheM2/R2methodsbecausethisautomaticallytakescareofthecurrentstateofthe
centersoftheMslice(duringedgesolving)ortheRslice(duringcornersolving),whichwouldotherwise
havetobeconsideredforUF/DB/URF/DRBbecausetheir"correct"placeisrelativetothecenterswhich
togglebetweensolvedandnotsolved.Memorizinginpairstakescareofthisautomatically.Onemental
itemalwaysstandsforthesamealgorithm.Soduringblindfoldedexecution,allyouneedtodoisrecall
thenextitemandletyourfingersapplythecorrespondingalgorithm.
Oh,andmemorizinginpairsalsoletsyoudetermineparityeasily,asincaseofoddparityyousimplyend
upwithasingleunpaireditemattheendofmemorizingtheedges.

NowI'llshowhowIdealwiththespecialcases:oddparity,cleaningupmisorientedpieces,dealingwithmore
thanoneedgeorcornercycle.
Specialcases
Ifthere'sanothercyclewhenI'mdonewith
one,Ibreakintothenewonejustlikewith
myoldermethod,choosingatargetwitha
fastalgorithm(usuallyM2orR2).

Goal
Orient
edges

Aftersolvingtheedges,Imightendupwith
someMsliceedgesflippedandsomenon
Msliceedgesflippedbecausetheywere
Orient
likethatatthestartofthesolve.Iflipthem corners
alltogether,usuallywithoneofthealgson
therightsideafterasetupmove.Similarly
corners,thoughmostlyDFRandUBRare
misoriented.
Incaseofoddparity,theMandRcrosses
needtoberotatedbackandtheparity
algorithmdoesjustthat.

Algorithm

(M'U)*4
M'UM'UM'U2MUMUMU2
(M'UM'UM'UM'U')*2
(ULU'L')(M'U)*4(LUL'U')

(R'UR2'U'R2U'R'U)(RUR'U')(R2U'R2U)
(RUR2'U'R2U'R'U)(RUR'U')(R2U'R2UR2)
(L'U'LU'L'U2L)(RUR'URU2R')
(RU2R'U'RU'R')(L'U2LUL'UL)

(r2'U'r2)(R'U)(L'U2')(RU'R'U2R)(LU')(r2'U)
Odd
parity

I'mactuallydreamingofhavingonebig
cleanupstepattheend,fixingmisoriented
Combi (r2y')(R'U'l'LU'LU)(L'r'U)(lU')(FRU)
edgesandcornersandtheparityallat
nations (L2y')(R'U'l'LU'LU)(L'r'U)(lU')(FRU)
once.UntilnowIknowtwoalgorithms
combiningparitywithcornerorientation.

Incaseyou'reinterestedaboutthehistoryofthismethod,howIdevelopedit...keepreading.
History
In2004Iinventedmyoldermethod(alsoseeJoelvanNoort'sblindcubingtutorial),itskeyideainmy
opinionbeingthatitsolvesonepieceatatime(thismakessetupmovesextremelyeasyandyoucando
themunconsciously).Though,somepeoplesayitskeyideaandcontributionwasthatitorientsand
permutesatthesametime,aspreviousmethodsdidthemseparately.Anyway,thatmethodcertainly
influencedM2/R2
However,theactualoriginofM2/R2wasamethodfortheedgesofthe4x4anddatesbacktoDecember
2005.ItcausedmetostartthisthreadandIfirstexplainedthemethodinthismessage.Italternated
betweenRUR'U'(Rr)R'URU'(Rr)'anditsinverse(asaforwardandabackwardstep)asaswapalg
toshootanedgefromabufferpositiontoitsgoalposition(usuallywithsetupmoves,ofcourse).Thatisa
3cycleofedges,notaswap,butthetrickwastonotuseafixedbufferposition,butalternatebetween
UBrandURfasbuffers.Theotherofthetwoalwayswasa"helper".DanielBeyerbtwimprovedthis
methodandalsoadapteditto4x4centers,seeDaniel'stutorial.
Then,againfor4x4edges,Ihadtheideatouseshorter3cyclesinvolvingtworedges,UL'U'rULU'r'
anditsinverse,withthebufferalternatingbetweenDFrandUBrandthehelperalwaysbeingatFUr.It
alsoreducedthesetupmoves,astheywereintegratedintothealgorithm(theUL'U'partintheexample)
soIcouldshoottomanytargetswithjustoneorevennoextrasetupmoves.
Stillforthe4x4,Iswitchedfromr/r'tor2/r2,becausethebackwardalghadtodor'/rinsteadofr/r'.That
confusedme,andthat'swhyIwenttotheconsistentr2/r2,sonowalgslookedlikeUL'U'r2ULU'r2
andmybufferandhelperpositionsalternatedbetweenDFrandUBr.
ThenIrealizedthattheforwardalgorithmendedwithr2,andthebackwardalgorithmstartedwithr2.SoI
cancelledthat.ThisalsohadthewonderfulsideeffectofkeepingthebufferfixedatDFrandgettingridof
thehelperpositionconcept.ItalsointroducedthetemporarilyoutofplacecentersandFUrandBDr
edges,butthatturnedouttobeanegligibleissue.Bynow,algslookedlikeUL'U'r2ULU'.
Finally,Imovedthemethodtothe3x3,replacingr2withM2(andaddingnewalgsfortheMslicetargets).
InJanuary2006Ifirstmentionedandlaterexplainedthenewmethodintheblindcubinggroup.Forsome

reasonIdon'tremember,IfirstintroducedwhatIlaterrenamedM2P,whichisM2justforpermutation,
i.e.,afteredgeshavebeenoriented,whichmakesitevenfasterbecausethosearetheniceralgs.
Anyway,interestwassmall,thoughatleastJoelvanNoortpickeditupandwetalkedaboutitabitatthe
nextcompetitions.ButIkindahadthefeelingthatI'dfirsthavetoproveittobefast,soImostlykeptquiet
aboutit.
AtfirstIthoughtthatthesamemethodwouldn'tworkforcorners,aseachcornerhasthreepossible
orientationsandtherearejusttwoeasywaystobringanLcornertoUBR,fromBLDwithU'LUandfrom
LBUwithU'L'U.NoticethatBLDandLBUaren'tjustanLturnawayfromeachother,theyeach
representfourLslicecornerstickers/targets(youcanseethemandtheiralgsgroupedintheabove
corneralgstable).However,onefinedayIrealizedthatthethirdorientationisn'tplainimpossible,butjust
needsalittlelongeralgs.AndthenIusedACubetofindgoodalgsfortheRslicecorners.
InJune2007,IfinallydecidedtomakeM2/R2publicwithapageonmywebsite.Atthetimeofthis
writing,ithasmostlybeendiscussedinthisspeedcubinggroupthread.Shortlyafterwards,Erik
Akkersdijk,whohadalreadylearnedM2fromJoel,publishedErik'sblindcubingtutorial,amongother
thingsprovidinghisperspectiveonM2.Ironically,he(orJoel?)alsotranslatedM2tothe4x4,i.e.,backto
whereithadoriginatedfrom(thoughhecouldn'thaveknown,IthinkInevertoldthatuntilnow),and
describedther2methodfor4x4edges,butwithbetterhandlingofthelsliceandrsliceedgesthanI
originallyhad.Btw,M2isalsoveryniceforthemiddleedgesofthe5x5.Unlikemyoldermethod,which
swapstredgeswhentranslatedtothe5x5,M2onlyswapsthemiddleedges.

I'vebeenaskedformoreexamples,soheretheyare(forthesuggestedscrambles):
Solve1(requestedhere)

Solve2(requestedhere)

Scramble:LUL'B'D2UR'F2B'D'UB'R2U'D'F Scramble:RB2L'R2D2F2R2F2RU2FU'F2D'
RD'F'URB2DB'D'
B'D2U'R'B2D'F'
DB:MU2MU2
UB:M2
DL:U'L2UM2U'L2U
UR:R'URU'M2UR'U'R
LF:x'UL2'U'M2UL2U'x
DB:MU2MU2
BR:UR'U'M2URU'
RF:x'U'R2UM2U'R2Ux
BU:M2

DB:MU2MU2
UB:M2
DL:U'L2UM2U'L2U
RU:x'U'RUM2U'R'Ux
FL:U'L'UM2U'LU
BD:MU2MU2
BR:UR'U'M2URU'
RF:x'U'R2UM2U'R2Ux
BU:M2

Orientedges:
LF(M'UM'UM'U2MUMUMU2)F'L'

Orientedges:
RF(M'U)*4F'R'

LUF:L'U'L'UR2U'LUL
UBR:R2
DLF:U'L2UR2U'L2U
BDR:(RUR'Dr2U')(RUr2'U')(D'R)
RBD:(R'UR2U'R'F'RUR2U'R'F)
BRU:U'L'ULU'L'UR2U'LUL'U'LU
BLD:U'LUR2U'L'U
LBU:U'L'UR2U'LU
DBL:U'L2UL'U'LUR2U'L'ULU'L2U

LUF:L'U'L'UR2U'LUL
UBR:R2
DLF:U'L2UR2U'L2U
BDR:(RUR'Dr2U')(RUr2'U')(D'R)
RBD:(R'UR2U'R'F'RUR2U'R'F)
BRU:U'L'ULU'L'UR2U'LUL'U'LU
BLD:U'LUR2U'L'U
LBU:U'L'UR2U'LU
DBL:U'L2UL'U'LUR2U'L'ULU'L2U

Orientcornersandfixparity:
(L2y')(R'U'l'LU'LU)(L'r'U)(lU')(FRU)

Orientcornersandfixparity:
(L2y')(R'U'l'LU'LU)(L'r'U)(lU')(FRU)

Timeoffluentexecution:36seconds

Timeoffluentexecution:36seconds

StefanPochmann
Lastmodified:October202011,15:21:42