All events · 2x2x2 Cube · Practise · Algorithms
2x2 · Advanced
CLL and the EG sets, plus 2x2 specific strategy. Sub-5 averages and optimal-ish solutions.
Move sequences on this page were checked in a cube simulator (cubing.js): they are legal and, where the text says so, do what it claims. Strategy advice is guidance, not machine-checked.
CLL: orient and permute in one algorithm
With a face or layer built, CLL solves the other layer's orientation and permutation of all four corners in a single algorithm. There are 42 cases (the cases grouped by the seven orientation types) and they are the main step up from Ortega.
Any move sequence that leaves the bottom layer intact is a CLL algorithm for the case it undoes. Here are two short examples of that shape found by search, with the case shown as the starting point.
R U R2 U' R2 U R — a 7-move CLLR' U' R2 U R2 U' R' — a 7-move CLLLearning the sets
Learn CLL by orientation group, one group at a time, and prefer algorithms that match your hand positions over the shortest ones. Keep a drill list of cases you hesitate on and revisit it often.
EG-1 and EG-2 are further sets (roughly forty algorithms each) that finish the cube from a built face in one look, but only when the face has a particular relationship between its corners. They are the next step after CLL once your face building is reliable.
Strategy
Plan the face during inspection, including the tracking of the last-layer pieces, so the first algorithm is chosen as soon as the face is done. On a 2x2, an optimal solution never needs more than 11 moves (half turn metric) from any position, so there is always a short solution to look for.