French Defense · As Black · updated October 2026
Play the French like Wesley So
A repertoire in the French built from 60 of Wesley So's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Wesley So chose most often. Where Wesley So 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 Wesley So or Chess.com.
- Wesley So was #6 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,314) and scored 71% against opponents averaging 2,949 in these games.
- You play Wesley So's own move in 23 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
#6
Chess.com
Rating
3,314
Games
60
in this opening
Score
71%
in these games
Opponents
2,949
average rating
Lines to learn
- Next
Line 1 · 12% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.a4 h6
- New
Line 2 · 9% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 Nh6 7.Bd3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bd7
- New
Line 3 · 7% at top level
2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 Nc6 5.g3 Nf6 6.Bg2 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Re1 Qc7
- New
Line 4 · 7% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6
- New
Line 5 · 6% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Ne2 Nf6
- New
Line 6 · 6% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 Ne7 6.a3 Bxc3 7.Bxc3 b6
- New
Line 7 · 5% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Be7 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bd3 c5 7.c3 Nc6 8.O-O a5
- New
Line 8 · 5% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.O-O Bd7 8.Re1 Nge7 9.h4 Rc8 10.h5 h6 11.Nbd2 dxc3 12.bxc3 Na5 13.Rb1 Qc7 14.Ba3 Qxc3
Ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. Learned lines join your daily review.
Wesley So's main line in the French, move by move
The most common line at top level: 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.a4 h6.
- 2.d4 Reply · Wesley So's games A common reply here is 2.d4. At top level, this comes up about 85% of the time.
- 2…d5 Your move · Wesley So's games Wesley So played 2…d5 in 51 games, scoring 71%.
- 3.Nc3 Reply · Wesley So's games A common reply here is 3.Nc3. At top level, this comes up about 33% of the time.
- 3…Bb4 Your move · Wesley So's games Wesley So played 3…Bb4 in 12 games, scoring 79%.
- 4.e5 Reply · Wesley So's games A common reply here is 4.e5. At top level, this comes up about 28% of the time.
- 4…c5 Your move · Wesley So's games Wesley So played 4…c5 in 10 games, scoring 85%.
- 5.a3 Reply · Wesley So's games A common reply here is 5.a3. At top level, this comes up about 19% of the time.
- 5…Bxc3+ Your move · Wesley So's games Wesley So played 5…Bxc3+ in 6 games, scoring 83%.
- 6.bxc3 Reply · Wesley So's games A common reply here is 6.bxc3.
- 6…Ne7 Your move · Wesley So's games Wesley So played 6…Ne7 in 5 games, scoring 80%.
- 7.a4 Reply · Wesley So's games A common reply here is 7.a4. At top level, this comes up about 12% of the time.
- 7…h6 Your move · Wesley So's games Wesley So played 7…h6 in 2 games, scoring 100%.
Questions about this course
- How does Wesley So play the French?
- After 1.e4 e6, Wesley So's most common line is 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.a4 h6. At top level it comes up about 12% of the time.
- Is this Wesley So's course?
- No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Wesley So's public Chess.com blitz games.
- What is this French course based on?
- 60 of Wesley So's Chess.com blitz games in the French Defense as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 2,949. Wesley So scored 71% in them.
- How many lines does the course have?
- 8 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 Wesley So?
- GM Wesley So was ranked number 6 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,314 when this course was built.