New kid on the block: Luis Tan, 10, beats adults at Rubik’s Cube to rank fourth nationally

SINGAPORE – While other children his age spend their leisure time playing games on online platform Roblox or watching television, 10-year-old Luis Tan devotes up to eight hours a day puzzling over a Rubik’s Cube.

He first picked up the classic puzzle – invented almost 40 years before he was born – when he visited his friend’s house in September 2022. He was immediately hooked and, within eight months, the Primary 4 pupil at Yew Tee Primary School had memorised 78 algorithms for solving the cube. The longest algorithms consist of seven to eight moves.

In July, he made waves as the newcomer who beat many experienced adults to clinch fourth place in the Singapore Eighty And Below competition in the fewest move count (FMC) category. He took an average of 31.67 moves to crack the cube, while the champion, Australian Jayden McNeill, 25, used an average of 21 moves.

Luis’ most memorable competition was the Please Be Quiet Bukit Jalil 2023 competition in June, as he achieved a personal record of 24 moves in the category, winning the honour of being ranked fourth nationally and cementing him as one to watch.

There is no secret algorithm to his cubing success. Luis said: “It was a state of constant improvement for me. When I began learning to solve the 3x3x3 cube, my solving averaged four minutes. In about a week, it dropped to two minutes. Now, my average solve time is 15 seconds.”

An FMC competition is “similar to taking an exam”, said Mr Wong Chong Wen, 25, who became Luis’ mentor in April, when they met at Cubewerkz Cubing Academy. Going by the averaged statistics of his solves, Mr Wong is ranked first nationally and tied for fifth in the world in the FMC category.

Mr Wong, who started cubing at age 11, said: “Competitors are given one hour to find the fewest moves to solve the same cube configuration on a question paper.”

He added: “Luis took only eight months from last September to April to memorise 78 algorithms for solving the cube. That is impressive.”

To ensure he solves the configuration with the fewest moves, Luis spends up to 30 minutes deciding what his first and second moves should be. The first steps are crucial, said the boy, as they decide what future steps are left open.

Leading up to competitions, he would practise for eight hours a day on weekends. On weekdays, he maintains his cubing acuity with two hours of practice.

Despite his many hours spent rotating the cube, neither his wrists nor grades suffer. He attains scores of 90 and above across all his school subjects. The model student was even appointed by his teachers to teach his fellow pupils how to solve the cube.

Aside from cubing, Luis enjoys learning to code and build robots at his school’s robotics club. He will be representing the school in a robotics competition in September.

He said: “According to Google, children learn faster than adults. I learnt how to solve the cube in an hour and never forgot the technique. But my father took a whole week to learn the most basic method and, shortly after, he had to relearn a few steps.”

The cubing whizz-kid’s biggest supporters are his parents, who reward him with a new cube when he does well in cubing competitions or school examinations.

Luis is the younger child of Mr Tan Kuo Ping, 44, head of enterprise risk management at Jurong Port, and Ms Ho Lai Ying, 44, a marketing manager. His 13-year-old brother Lucas attends cubing lessons with him.

Luis joked that one cannot take a step in their home “without seeing a cube”, as he has amassed a collection of about 30.

Mr Tan said: “The rewards are for his effort and determination to succeed. My wife and I are not too concerned with his performance.

“I feel heartened he found his passion and gives his all in cubing. His great results are a testament that following your passion pays off.”