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French Defense · As Black · updated October 2026

Play the French like Teimour Radjabov

A repertoire in the French built from 88 of Teimour Radjabov's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Teimour Radjabov chose most often. Where Teimour Radjabov 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 Teimour Radjabov or Chess.com.

  • Teimour Radjabov was #27 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,229) and scored 80% against opponents averaging 2,770 in these games.
  • You play Teimour Radjabov's own move in 25 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

#27

Chess.com

Rating

3,229

Games

88

in this opening

Score

80%

in these games

Opponents

2,770

average rating

More about Teimour Radjabov

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 14 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 10% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Rc8 7.O-O Nge7 8.Kh1 Ng6

    Next

  2. Line 2 · 10% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Rc8 7.O-O Nge7 8.Na3 Ng6 9.g3 cxd4 10.cxd4 f6 11.h4 fxe5 12.h5 e4 13.hxg6 exf3 14.Bxf3 hxg6 15.Re1 Qf6 16.Bxd5 Bxa3

    New

  3. Line 3 · 8% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 a6 4.Ngf3 c5 5.exd5 exd5 6.dxc5 Bxc5

    New

  4. Line 4 · 7% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 a6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Ne2 c5 7.c3 Nc6

    New

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    2.Nf3 d5

    New

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 a6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 c5 6.exd5 exd5 7.O-O c4 8.Re1+ Be7 9.Bf1 O-O

    New

  7. Line 7 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 a6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5 Be7

    New

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 a6 4.Bd3 c5

    New

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 a6 4.exd5 exd5

    New

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Rc8 7.Na3 cxd4

    New

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Na3 f6 7.Be2 cxd4 8.cxd4 fxe5

    New

  12. Line 12 · 4% at top level

    2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6

    New

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

Teimour Radjabov's main line in the French, move by move

The most common line at top level: 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Rc8 7.O-O Nge7 8.Kh1 Ng6.

  1. 2.d4 Reply · Teimour Radjabov'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 · Teimour Radjabov's games Teimour Radjabov played 2…d5 in 72 games, scoring 82%.
  3. 3.e5 Reply · Teimour Radjabov's games A common reply here is 3.e5. At top level, this comes up about 31% of the time.
  4. 3…c5 Your move · Teimour Radjabov's games Teimour Radjabov played 3…c5 in 21 games, scoring 79%.
  5. 4.c3 Reply · Teimour Radjabov's games A common reply here is 4.c3. At top level, this comes up about 28% of the time.
  6. 4…Nc6 Your move · Teimour Radjabov's games Teimour Radjabov played 4…Nc6 in 11 games, scoring 82%.
  7. 5.Nf3 Reply · Teimour Radjabov's games A common reply here is 5.Nf3.
  8. 5…Bd7 Your move · Teimour Radjabov's games Teimour Radjabov played 5…Bd7 in 7 games, scoring 71%.
  9. 6.Be2 Reply · Teimour Radjabov's games A common reply here is 6.Be2. At top level, this comes up about 24% of the time.
  10. 6…Rc8 Your move · Teimour Radjabov's games Teimour Radjabov played 6…Rc8 in 6 games, scoring 67%.
  11. 7.O-O Reply · Teimour Radjabov's games A common reply here is 7.O-O. At top level, this comes up about 20% of the time.
  12. 7…Nge7 Your move · Teimour Radjabov's games Teimour Radjabov played 7…Nge7 in 4 games, scoring 63%.
  13. 8.Kh1 Reply · Teimour Radjabov's games A common reply here is 8.Kh1. At top level, this comes up about 10% of the time.
  14. 8…Ng6 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Teimour Radjabov play the French?
After 1.e4 e6, Teimour Radjabov's most common line is 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Rc8 7.O-O Nge7 8.Kh1 Ng6. At top level it comes up about 10% of the time.
Is this Teimour Radjabov's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Teimour Radjabov's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this French course based on?
88 of Teimour Radjabov's Chess.com blitz games in the French Defense as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 2,770. Teimour Radjabov scored 80% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
12 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 Teimour Radjabov?
GM Teimour Radjabov was ranked number 27 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,229 when this course was built.

More openings to play like Teimour Radjabov

Play the French like other top players