1982 World Rubik's Cube Championship

The 1982 World Rubik's Cube Championship was a competition for speedsolving the 3×3×3 Rubik's Cube.

1982 World Rubik's Cube Championship

Minh Thai standing next to the timer after setting his 22.95 world record single.
Tournament information
Sport	Speedcubing
Location	Budapest, Hungary
Dates	5 June 1982–5 June 1982
Teams	19
Final champion
Minh Thai

It was held in Budapest, Hungary, on 5 June 1982.[1] Contestants selected from 19 countries took part.[1] Minh Thai from the United States of America was the winner with a best time of 22.95 after three attempts for each contestant. The top attempt of three was taken as the competitor's score.[2] First prize was a gold-plated Rubik's Cube.[1]

Writing shortly afterwards, David Singmaster who was one of the judges, described the competition as being efficiently organized, although at one point power for the TV and the display timer failed in the middle of a trial.[3] The cubes were selected by Ernő Rubik himself, and according to Singmaster "competitors described them as pretty good".[3] However, writing around 20 years later, Jessica Fridrich who had participated in the contest, criticised the cubes for being "really hard to turn and were not prepared for serious speed cubing".[4]

This competition was the first officially recognised competition of its kind. The next competition was held in 2003 in Canada, with many differences to the competition structure and many other puzzles being added other than the Rubik's Cube.[5] The World Cube Association, founded in 2004, retroactively recognizes the results of the 1982 championship despite substantial differences between the event and modern speedsolving competitions.