# Michelle Yugie, Woman Multi BLD WR



## Chuck (Nov 13, 2010)

Michelle Nataniel Yugie came to Jakarta more than two weeks ago to set the new women’s world record in the Rubik’s Cube 3x3x3 blindfold category. But because of Mount Merapi and her classes at Kristen Duta Wacana University in Yogyakarta being canceled, she was in town long enough to teach us everything we ever wanted to know about her addiction to the cube. For a sport run rampant with men, Michelle’s story is pretty unique. She fell in love with Rubik’s Cube, invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik, a little over a year ago and now she’s determined to pass that love on to other girls around the country and be the first girl ever to solve a 5x5x5 cube blindfolded — which means memorizing more than 650 different moves.

*How do you train for something like a Rubik’s Cube competition?*

Every night before I go to sleep I complete one cube blindfolded 10 times. I didn’t expect to win the Jakarta Ceria Open two weeks ago because the then-No. 1 was competing in the same category of 3x3x3-sized cubes and he was planning to break his own world record. Plus, most of the competitors were male and so many smart people competed, but they failed because of things beyond their control. It was kind of a coincidence that I completed all 8 cubes in 57 minutes and 12 seconds blindfolded.








*When was the first time you joined a competition?*

In January 2010, the Jakarta Open at FX Senayan. I was a rookie back then. I solved three cubes out of four in 33:47, blindfolded. I won third place and I was the only female Indonesian on the podium. The second one was the Indonesian Championship in July 2010 at the Yogya Expo Center in Yogyakarta. I solved five cubes out of six in 47:55, breaking the women’s world record in the category multiple blindfolded and beating the former champion, Shelley Chang from the United States.

*How did you get hooked on Rubik’s Cube?*

I have a friend who brought the cube with him everywhere. He’s a cube freak. A year ago, I learned the beginner’s moves on the Internet and after that my friend taught me the blindfolded method, which is challenging. You have to remember around 300 steps. The first time I ever solved a single cube blindfolded it took me eight minutes. Now it takes me about two.

*What does a Rubik’s Cube fan study in college?*

I go to Kristen Duta Wacana University in Yogyakarta. I’m majoring in architecture; in my fifth semester now. I chose architecture because I’ve loved to draw ever since I was a little girl. And I always seem to be interested in geometrical shapes and objects like Rubik’s Cube — it’s so simple, yet sophisticated.

*What else do you do when you’re not solving cubes or studying architecture?*

Nothing [laughs]. Actually, I like to play online games and … do you know Pump It Up? It’s like Dance, Dance Revolution, the dancing game where you have to step on the right squares at the right time? I like that too.

*Can you break down how you complete a cube if you’re blindfolded?*

It is impossible if you don’t look at the cube before trying to solve it blindfolded. The first step is memorizing the colors of the cube piece by piece. Remember, you are not allowed to turn the cube. The next step is to put on the blindfold and do every single move perfectly — no mistakes. And there’s no peeking. Some people think we do that.

*What’s more interesting to you, speed cubing or blindfold competition?*

I’m seriously trying to focus on blindfolding. It is more challenging and gives me an indescribable satisfaction. You will know what I’m talking about if you ever complete a cube blindfolded.

*What was the first cube you bought?*

The Mirror Cube. It was love at the first sight. It was so beautiful and much more sophisticated than the regular cube. I’ve got five 3x3x3’s, one 2x2x2, one 4x4x4, and the mirror cube, so in total I have eight cubes. My favorite cube is the pink one. It seems that it was created specially for girls.

*How many times a day do you practice solving cubes? Does it affect your study?*

It’s all about time management and consistency. As I said, I always practice solving a single cube blindfolded every night before going to sleep. I do it about 10 times to improve my speed and accuracy. When I want to work on my multiple blindfolded technique — and to make sure I won’t be nervous when joining a competition with spectators present — I practice with friends from the Yogyakarta Rubik’s Cube Association in front of everybody at the mall. That association is a regional group of cubers in Yogyakarta.

*Do you think more girls will get into Rubik’s Cubes?*

I just hope that many more female cubers start to play blindfolded in Indonesia. So far, there are only four female Indonesians who compete in the blindfolded category.

*What’s your next challenge?*

I want to be the blindfolded champion in bigger-sized cube competitions, like the 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 cubes. I can master those bigger cubes at home now, but I’m not ready to compete. So far, the only woman who can solve a single 4x4x4 cube blindfolded, is Shelley Chang. And there aren’t any women who can solve the 5x5x5 cube blindfolded. I want to be the first in the world.

Source


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## joey (Nov 13, 2010)

As far as I know, Shelley has done 5x5 BLD, just not in competition.


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## Jani (Nov 13, 2010)

I have the video of her 8/8

@joey
she wants to be the first in competition.


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## Jani (Nov 13, 2010)

I have the video of her 8/8

@joey
she wants to be the first in competition.


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## Sa967St (Nov 13, 2010)

yay Michelle!


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## ariasamie (Nov 13, 2010)

Chuck said:


> It is impossible if you don’t look at the cube before trying to solve it blindfolded.


 
no it is not.
memorize 43 quintillion algorithms which each one of them is at most 20 turns.
do one. undo. the next one. undo.
when you have done and undone all the 43 quintillion algorithms, you can claim that you have solved it (and then just unsolved it.)


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## cmhardw (Nov 13, 2010)

Congratulations, Michelle! Good luck on your quest for the 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 cubes! I hope you find them as addicting and as fun as multiBLD!



ariasamie said:


> no it is not.
> memorize 43 quintillion algorithms which each one of them is at most 20 turns.
> do one. undo. the next one. undo.
> when you have done and undone all the 43 quintillion algorithms, you can claim that you have solved it (and then just unsolved it.)


 
Or just memorize one Devil's Algorithm and apply it once


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## qqwref (Nov 13, 2010)

5x5 BLD "means memorizing more than 650 different moves"? More like 92 pieces and zero moves. I don't know anyone who would memorize moves for a BLD solve.


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## cmhardw (Nov 13, 2010)

qqwref said:


> 5x5 BLD "means memorizing more than 650 different moves"? More like 92 pieces and zero moves. I don't know anyone who would memorize moves for a BLD solve.


 
True, but are we certain that this is not interviewer/recording error? Or if the interview was conducted by Chuck, then I wonder if Michelle was trying to explain in lay terms, not in cuber terms?


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## bluecloe45 (Nov 13, 2010)

Cool.


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## Lumej (Nov 13, 2010)

Congratulations! Keep spreading the interest in cubing among the girls.


Michelle Yugie said:


> So far, the only woman who can solve a single 4x4x4 cube blindfolded, is Shelley Chang.


The word "officially" is missing, and Mimmi Leckius also had an official 4x4bld success.


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## qqwref (Nov 13, 2010)

cmhardw said:


> True, but are we certain that this is not interviewer/recording error?


Of course not. I felt the error had to be pointed out, though.



cmhardw said:


> Or if the interview was conducted by Chuck, then I wonder if Michelle was trying to explain in lay terms, not in cuber terms?


Laypeople may not understand the jargon, but that doesn't mean they should be lied to about what an accomplishment entails. Saying you have to memorize over 650 moves is false and makes BLD seem way harder than it is, whereas saying you have to memorize the positions of over 90 pieces is true, gives a correct impression of how hard the event is, and is completely understandable by a noncuber.


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## Crazycubemom (Nov 13, 2010)

Thanks mas Chuck 
Michelle, I can't wait for your next competition 
Buanggane aku ambe ikki article heheheheheheh


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## Chuck (Nov 14, 2010)

qqwref said:


> 5x5 BLD "means memorizing more than 650 different moves"? More like 92 pieces and zero moves. I don't know anyone who would memorize moves for a BLD solve.



Of course 



qqwref said:


> Laypeople may not understand the jargon, but that doesn't mean they should be lied to about what an accomplishment entails. Saying you have to memorize over 650 moves is false and makes BLD seem way harder than it is, whereas saying you have to memorize the positions of over 90 pieces is true, gives a correct impression of how hard the event is, and is completely understandable by a noncuber.



Media loves to exaggerate facts, it happens to us many times, and many of them becomes wrong. So we think why don't we just exaggerate it for them 

Sometimes when we're explaining the simple truth, like memorizing 20 pieces and solving piece by piece (BLD) or do it layer by layer in 4 steps (speedsolve) doesn't have the charm to interest people. It really annoys to get responds like, "I see, so it's not that hard." Of course, It goes the other way around when we want to seriously teach someone, because we need to make it sound simple if we want them to learn 

The interviewer of this article is a non-cuber, and I think Michelle did an impressive job.


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## Andreaillest (Nov 14, 2010)

Thanks for sharing the article Chuck. That's awesome!


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## ~Adam~ (Nov 14, 2010)

Chuck said:


> A year ago, I learned the beginner’s moves on the Internet and after that my friend taught me the blindfolded method, which is challenging. You have to remember around 300 steps.



84,729. I love plucking numbers out of thin air.


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## waffle=ijm (Nov 14, 2010)

sexy


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## Michelle Yugie (Nov 14, 2010)

Well hello.. this is my first post..
I just want to say please do not believe the article for 100%. lot of my words had been changed by the editor.. I'm not a person with that confident. about the sentences about memorize about 650 moves, they asked me "how many moves did you do for 5x5 bld?" and I answered it was about 650 moves but after that*I had told them that we do not memorize the move, we memorize the pieces*. but maybe they didn't care about it.


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## cmhardw (Nov 14, 2010)

Michelle Yugie said:


> Well hello.. this is my first post..
> I just want to say please do not believe the article for 100%. lot of my words had been changed by the editor.. I'm not a person with that confident. about the sentences about memorize about 650 moves, they asked me "how many moves did you do for 5x5 bld?" and I answered it was about 650 moves but after that*I had told them that we do not memorize the move, we memorize the pieces*. but maybe they didn't care about it.


 
Hi Michelle,

Congratulations on your blindfold achievements, and nice to have you on the forum! Also, don't worry about that sentence in the article. By now we're quite used to mistakes like this popping up in articles about the cube  Overall the article was very nice, and is good publicity for the cube (and for you)!

Happy cubing,
Chris


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## Michelle Yugie (Nov 14, 2010)

cmhardw said:


> Hi Michelle,
> 
> Congratulations on your blindfold achievements, and nice to have you on the forum! Also, don't worry about that sentence in the article. By now we're quite used to mistakes like this popping up in articles about the cube  Overall the article was very nice, and is good publicity for the cube (and for you)!
> 
> ...


 
Hi Mr.Chris,
Thank you so much, your words are very helping. It feels so nice to read your positive sentences. 


[wow, Mr. Chris said hi to me! ]


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