French Defense · As Black · updated October 2026
Play the French like Haik Martirosyan
A repertoire in the French built from 74 of Haik Martirosyan's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Haik Martirosyan chose most often. Where Haik Martirosyan 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 Haik Martirosyan or Chess.com.
- Haik Martirosyan was #33 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,220) and scored 74% against opponents averaging 2,877 in these games.
- You play Haik Martirosyan's own move in 27 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
#33
Chess.com
Rating
3,220
Games
74
in this opening
Score
74%
in these games
Opponents
2,877
average rating
Lines to learn
- Next
Line 1 · 9% 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 2 · 8% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.Qg4 Kf8 7.dxc5 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Nd7
- New
Line 3 · 8% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Ngf3 cxd4 6.Bc4 Qd7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Nb3 Nc6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 a6 11.c3 Bd6
- New
Line 4 · 6% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Bd3 Bb5
- New
Line 5 · 6% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Bd3 Ne7 6.O-O Nbc6
- New
Line 6 · 5% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6
- New
Line 7 · 5% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 cxd4 7.cxd4 Bb5 8.Nc3 Bxe2
- New
Line 8 · 4% at top level
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.b4 cxd4 7.Qg4 Kf8
- New
Line 9 · 4% at top level
2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Bb4
- New
Line 10 · 4% at top level
2.Qe2 d5
Ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. Learned lines join your daily review.
Haik Martirosyan's main line in the French, move by move
The most common line 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.
- 2.d3 Reply · Haik Martirosyan's games A common reply here is 2.d3. At top level, this comes up about 11% of the time.
- 2…d5 Your move · Haik Martirosyan's games Haik Martirosyan played 2…d5 in 5 games, scoring 40%.
- 3.Nd2 Reply · Haik Martirosyan's games A common reply here is 3.Nd2. At top level, this comes up about 9% of the time.
- 3…c5 Your move · Haik Martirosyan's games Haik Martirosyan played 3…c5 in 4 games, scoring 25%.
- 4.Ngf3 Reply · Haik Martirosyan's games A common reply here is 4.Ngf3.
- 4…Nc6 Your move · Haik Martirosyan's games Haik Martirosyan played 4…Nc6 in 4 games, scoring 25%.
- 5.g3 Reply · Haik Martirosyan's games A common reply here is 5.g3.
- 5…Nf6 Your move · Haik Martirosyan's games Haik Martirosyan played 5…Nf6 in 2 games, scoring 50%.
- 6.Bg2 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 6.Bg2.
- 6…Be7 Your move · Top-50 players Haik Martirosyan has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
- 7.O-O Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 7.O-O.
- 7…O-O Your move · Top-50 players Haik Martirosyan has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
- 8.Re1 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 8.Re1.
- 8…Qc7 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.
Questions about this course
- How does Haik Martirosyan play the French?
- After 1.e4 e6, Haik Martirosyan's most common line is 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 Nc6 5.g3 Nf6 6.Bg2 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Re1 Qc7. At top level it comes up about 9% of the time.
- Is this Haik Martirosyan's course?
- No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Haik Martirosyan's public Chess.com blitz games.
- What is this French course based on?
- 74 of Haik Martirosyan's Chess.com blitz games in the French Defense as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 2,877. Haik Martirosyan scored 74% in them.
- How many lines does the course have?
- 10 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 Haik Martirosyan?
- GM Haik Martirosyan was ranked number 33 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,220 when this course was built.