CubeXprt : Akshaansh Chilakapati

WCA ID : 2016CHIL02

Akshaansh Chilakapati is a professional speed cuber ranked top 10 in India for Sum of Ranks (Single) and 11th for Average. He specializes in many events but is most proficient at big cubes, ranging from 4x4 to 7x7. He has a total of 29 podiums in just these events, and a total of 70 podiums from 22 WCA competitions. He has won 2 WCA competitions, and 1 online competition and almost always gets podiums in the big cube events.

Akshaansh is known for his great overall performances across all events, and his notable success in the 4x4 and 6x6 events. He has a good sense of understanding of how algorithms affect pieces and possesses a focused style of looking ahead while turning fast. He believes that intuition trumps memorization, and advocates practicing big cubes as a way to improve at every single cubic (NxN) event.

His official best times include solving the 4x4 in 27.49 seconds, 5x5 in 58.68 secondsl and 6x6 in 1 minute 50 seconds, along with a 3x3 one-handed single of 11.72 seconds. He is ranked 5th in the country for 6x6 single and 7th for average. 

In addition to speed cubing, Akshaansh studies Aerospace Engineering and aspires to be an Astrophysicist in the future by pursuing a master's abroad. He is an avid sportsperson who plays basketball, tennis, and football, among others. He is also a qualified musician who can play the drums, guitar, bass guitar, and piano.

Having started cubing around the end of 2016, he has a little under 6 years of experience competing. He has a YouTube channel called ‘SpaceTime Cubing’, where he uploads videos that include tutorials, solves, narrations, and sometimes battles! His aim is to get speed cubing to reach as many people as possible and teach the art to as many as he can, preaching why more people should get into it.

 Specialization:

• 2x2-7x7 (NxN Expert)
• 3x3 One-Handed (CFOP)
• 4x4 (Yau Method)
• 5x5 -7x7 (Reduction Method)
• Pyraminx, Megaminx
• Look-ahead, Turning efficiency
• Balanced practicing & Targeted improvement

His main cubes:

• 2x2 - QiYi Valk 2M
• 4x4 - 7x7 - YJ MGC Series
• Pyraminx - QiYi X-Man Bell Pyraminx

• Megaminx - YJ MGC Megaminx

Pre-requisites:

• The puzzle you want to improve at.
• Open-mindedness.
• The willingness to challenge what you already know and improve.
• The readiness to understand new/different techniques that may help you improve.
• A half-decent recording setup.

What you'll learn:

• The exact areas you need to work on to get faster.
• How to turn more efficiently.
• What to focus on while solving, pertaining to look-ahead.
• How to practice relevant to your weaknesses.
• How to balance your practice across various events.
• The logic behind each step of your improvement.
• How to acquire the mental state needed to break ‘barriers’, if you believe in them.