Twelve-year-old Milpitas resident Sid Shivnath has won silver and bronze medals in two recent Rubik’s Cube competitions hosted by the World Cube Association.
It was back in 2020 when Sid learned how to solve his first Rubik’s cube – from there, he was hooked. He devoted hours to studying complicated algorithms and improving his cubing skills.
This past July, Sid and his family flew to India, where he competed in a World Cube Association competition that took place in Calicut, located in the South Indian State of Kerala. By the end of the competition, he walked away with a bronze medal in Skewb, a combination puzzle that shares features with the Rubik’s Cube.
From there, Sid took part in a second competition in Alappuzha, also in Kerala, this time taking home three silver medals and one bronze medal. The silver medals were for the Pyraminx, Clock, and 3×3 one-handed solve; and he got another bronze for Skewb.
“He was the youngest competitor,” said Sid’s mother Gayatri Balachandran. “He competed against a bunch of top cubers.”
Sid has been competing in World Cube Association competitions since last October 2023.
When asked how he felt about his recent wins, Sid spoke of how proud he was to be able to get himself “in the zone.”
“I was happy I was able to deal with the pressure, compete with everyone else, and be able to come out in the Top 3,” Sid told The Beat.
Sid also mentioned that the best part about the competitions was meeting so many different people.
“I made a lot of great connections,” said Sid.
Along with winning the medals, Sid also recently got his second-degree black belt in mixed martial arts at Ernie Reyes Martial Arts in Milpitas.
Since Sid started taking part in Rubik’s Cube competitions last year, he has consistently improved, and is on a Personal Record streak.
“Every single event since the first time he went he’s been getting better and better,” Gayatri said.
