Checkerboard pattern

The classic first pattern. Start from a solved cube. Every face ends up alternating between its own colour and the opposite colour.

R2 L2 U2 D2 F2 B2

It's six half turns, in three pairs of opposite faces. The pairs can come in any order, and so can the two moves within a pair: U2 D2 F2 B2 L2 R2 works too. Do the same six moves again to get back to solved.

A faster way, with slice moves

M2 E2 S2: a half turn of each middle slice gives the same result in three moves.

• M is the slice between L and R.
• E is the slice between U and D.
• S is the slice between F and B.

Common mistakes

• Starting from a scrambled cube. Patterns only work from solved.
• Doing a quarter turn. Every move here is a half turn.