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French Defense · As Black · updated October 2026

Play the French like Arjun Erigaisi

A repertoire in the French built from 133 of Arjun Erigaisi's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Arjun Erigaisi chose most often. Where Arjun Erigaisi 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 Arjun Erigaisi or Chess.com.

  • Arjun Erigaisi was #49 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,198) and scored 72% against opponents averaging 2,990 in these games.
  • You play Arjun Erigaisi's own move in 36 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.

Next: line 1

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#49

Chess.com

Rating

3,198

Games

133

in this opening

Score

72%

in these games

Opponents

2,990

average rating

More about Arjun Erigaisi

Use arrow keys to navigate the board. Press Enter to select a piece, then use arrow keys and Enter to move. Press Escape to cancel a move.
Line 1 after 12 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 7% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Nce2 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Nf3 Be7

    Next

  2. Line 2 · 7% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.h4 a6

    New

  3. Line 3 · 7% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Be7 7.Be3 O-O 8.Qd2 a6

    New

  4. Line 4 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Ne4 5.Bd3 Nxd2 6.Bxd2 c5 7.c3 Nc6

    New

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Nge7 7.Na3 Ng6 8.Nc2 f6 9.exf6 Qxf6

    New

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.O-O O-O

    New

  7. Line 7 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Ne4 5.Nxe4 dxe4

    New

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.f4 a6 8.Nf3 O-O

    New

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Nge7 7.Na3 Ng6 8.h4 cxd4 9.cxd4 Bb4+ 10.Kf1 Bxa3 11.bxa3 h5

    New

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.d4 Nf6

    New

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    2.d3 d5

    New

Ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. Learned lines join your daily review.

Arjun Erigaisi's main line in the French, move by move

The most common line at top level: 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Nce2 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Nf3 Be7.

  1. 2.d4 Reply · Arjun Erigaisi's games A common reply here is 2.d4. At top level, this comes up about 89% of the time.
  2. 2…d5 Your move · Arjun Erigaisi's games Arjun Erigaisi played 2…d5 in 113 games, scoring 69%.
  3. 3.Nc3 Reply · Arjun Erigaisi's games A common reply here is 3.Nc3. At top level, this comes up about 40% of the time.
  4. 3…Nf6 Your move · Arjun Erigaisi's games Arjun Erigaisi played 3…Nf6 in 50 games, scoring 71%.
  5. 4.e5 Reply · Arjun Erigaisi's games A common reply here is 4.e5. At top level, this comes up about 25% of the time.
  6. 4…Nfd7 Your move · Arjun Erigaisi's games Arjun Erigaisi played 4…Nfd7 in 17 games, scoring 71%.
  7. 5.Nce2 Reply · Arjun Erigaisi's games A common reply here is 5.Nce2. At top level, this comes up about 9% of the time.
  8. 5…c5 Your move · Arjun Erigaisi's games Arjun Erigaisi played 5…c5 in 6 games, scoring 75%.
  9. 6.c3 Reply · Arjun Erigaisi's games A common reply here is 6.c3.
  10. 6…Nc6 Your move · Arjun Erigaisi's games Arjun Erigaisi played 6…Nc6 in 6 games, scoring 75%.
  11. 7.Nf3 Reply · Arjun Erigaisi's games A common reply here is 7.Nf3. At top level, this comes up about 7% of the time.
  12. 7…Be7 Your move · Arjun Erigaisi's games Arjun Erigaisi played 7…Be7 in 4 games, scoring 100%.

Questions about this course

How does Arjun Erigaisi play the French?
After 1.e4 e6, Arjun Erigaisi's most common line is 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Nce2 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Nf3 Be7. At top level it comes up about 7% of the time.
Is this Arjun Erigaisi's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Arjun Erigaisi's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this French course based on?
133 of Arjun Erigaisi's Chess.com blitz games in the French Defense as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 2,990. Arjun Erigaisi scored 72% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
11 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 Arjun Erigaisi?
GM Arjun Erigaisi was ranked number 49 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,198 when this course was built.

More openings to play like Arjun Erigaisi

Play the French like other top players