French Defense · As Black · updated October 2026
Play the French like David Paravyan
A repertoire in the French built from 32 of David Paravyan's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move David Paravyan chose most often. Where David Paravyan has fewer than 3 games, the course takes the other top-50 players' most played move, then Stockfish's. Learn a line on the board, then each position comes back in a short daily review until it sticks.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by David Paravyan or Chess.com.
- David Paravyan was #49 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,195) and scored 67% against opponents averaging 3,065 in these games.
- You play David Paravyan's own move in 8 of 40 positions.
- The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.
Train lines
Learn a new line move by move. Lines due for review go to your daily review first.
Free · first 5 lines need no account
Blitz rank
#49
Chess.com
Rating
3,195
Games
32
in this opening
Score
67%
in these games
Opponents
3,065
average rating
Lines to learn
- Next
Line 1 · 9% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Bf4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bd6 6.Qd2 O-O 7.O-O-O a5
- New
Line 2 · 7% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Bd3 Ngf6 6.Qe2 Nxe4
- New
Line 3 · 6% at top level
2.Nf3 d5
- New
Line 4 · 6% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Bg5 Be7
- New
Line 5 · 6% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Ng3 c5 7.Bd3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Ne5
- New
Line 6 · 6% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6
- New
Line 7 · 5% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Bd3 c5
- New
Line 8 · 5% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Bg5 Be7
- New
Line 9 · 5% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.g3 Be7
- New
Line 10 · 4% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.Be3 Nd5 8.Bd2 Bd6
- New
Line 11 · 4% at top level
2.Qe2 c5 3.Nf3 Nc6
- New
Line 12 · 4% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.O-O O-O 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 c5
- New
Line 13 · 3% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.h3 Bd6 6.Bd3 O-O 7.O-O c5 8.dxc5 Bxc5
- New
Line 14 · 3% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Bd3 Ngf6 6.Ng5 h6
- New
Line 15 · 3% at top level
2.d3 d5
- New
Line 16 · 3% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Bd3 Nc6
- New
Line 17 · 3% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.h3 Nf6
- New
Line 18 · 3% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.Qe2+ Be6
- New
Line 19 · 3% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6
Ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. Learned lines join your daily review.
David Paravyan's main line in the French, move by move
The most common line at top level: 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Bf4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bd6 6.Qd2 O-O 7.O-O-O a5.
- 2.d4 Reply · David Paravyan's games A common reply here is 2.d4. At top level, this comes up about 84% of the time.
- 2…d5 Your move · David Paravyan's games David Paravyan played 2…d5 in 27 games, scoring 72%.
- 3.exd5 Reply · David Paravyan's games A common reply here is 3.exd5. At top level, this comes up about 28% of the time.
- 3…exd5 Your move · David Paravyan's games David Paravyan played 3…exd5 in 9 games, scoring 67%.
- 4.Bf4 Reply · David Paravyan's games A common reply here is 4.Bf4. At top level, this comes up about 9% of the time.
- 4…Nf6 Your move · David Paravyan's games David Paravyan played 4…Nf6 in 2 games, scoring 50%.
- 5.Nc3 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 5.Nc3.
- 5…Bd6 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.
- 6.Qd2 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 6.Qd2.
- 6…O-O Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.
- 7.O-O-O Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 7.O-O-O.
- 7…a5 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.
Questions about this course
- How does David Paravyan play the French?
- After 1.e4 e6, David Paravyan's most common line is 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Bf4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bd6 6.Qd2 O-O 7.O-O-O a5. At top level it comes up about 9% of the time.
- Is this David Paravyan's course?
- No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from David Paravyan's public Chess.com blitz games.
- What is this French course based on?
- 32 of David Paravyan's Chess.com blitz games in the French Defense as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 3,065. David Paravyan scored 67% in them.
- How many lines does the course have?
- 19 lines covering 40 positions, ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. The first 5 lines need no account; saving your progress with an email unlocks the rest, free.
- Who is David Paravyan?
- GM David Paravyan was ranked number 49 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,195 when this course was built.