Saiyen, the master of the cube

John Ross College whiz kid Saiyen Naiker has mastered an algorithm that solves the Rubik’s cube in just over a minute, which made the Richards Bay mastermind an instant YouTube sensation.

John Ross sport coach Chase Lucas and Mrs D Govender videoed Naiker solving a jumbled Rubik’s cube in 1 minute and 10 seconds, which received more than 14 000 views and earned him a live interview on East Coast Radio and a spot in the ‘Grand Challenge’.

Naiker scored nine out of ten in the challenge and made Zululand proud with his interview.

‘My parents bought me a Rubik’s cube when I was five years old and I used to try solve it on a daily basis, but could only solve one side,’ said Naiker.

‘My cousin Keshav Naidoo and I googled a video called ‘The Beginners Method For Rubik’s Cube’ and taught ourselves how to solve it mastering a number of algorithms.’

The 13-year-old practices one to two hours a day, seven days a week and aims at improving his personal best time and finishing under 30 seconds.

His fastest time to date is 59 seconds if a stranger mixes up the cube.

But he can solve it under 15 seconds if he jumbles it using the reversal method.

Naiker enjoys playing chess and soccer in his spare time and wants to study civil engineering after school.