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Vienna Game · As White · updated October 2026

Play the Vienna Game like Nihal Sarin

A repertoire in the Vienna Game built from 31 of Nihal Sarin's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Nihal Sarin chose most often. Where Nihal Sarin 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 Nihal Sarin or Chess.com.

  • Nihal Sarin was #3 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,325) and scored 65% against opponents averaging 3,127 in these games.
  • You play Nihal Sarin's own move in 11 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

#3

Chess.com

Rating

3,325

Games

31

in this opening

Score

65%

in these games

Opponents

3,127

average rating

More about Nihal Sarin

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 10 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 22% at top level

    2…Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Be7 6.Qxe5 O-O 7.Qf4

    Next

  2. Line 2 · 17% at top level

    2…Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Na5 5.Bb3 Bb4 6.Nf3

    New

  3. Line 3 · 9% at top level

    2…Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Nc6 6.Nb5 g6 7.Qf3 f5 8.Qd5 Qe7 9.Nxc7+ Kd8 10.Nxa8 b6 11.Qd3

    New

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    2…Nf6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.d3 Na5 5.Bb3 Nxb3 6.axb3

    New

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    2…Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bb4 5.Ne2 d5 6.exd5 Nxd5 7.O-O Be6 8.Bxd5 Bxd5 9.f4 O-O 10.Nxd5

    New

  6. Line 6 · 4% at top level

    2…Nf6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 O-O 5.f4 d5 6.Nxd5 Nxd5 7.Bxd5 Qf6 8.f5 Rd8 9.Bb3 Bxg1 10.Rxg1 Qh4+ 11.g3 Qxh2 12.Be3 Nc6 13.Qf3

    New

  7. Line 7 · 4% at top level

    2…Nf6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 O-O 5.f4 exf4 6.Bxf4 c6 7.d4

    New

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    2…Nf6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 d6 5.Na4

    New

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    2…Nf6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.d3 Bb4 5.Ne2

    New

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    2…Nf6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.d3 Be7 5.Nge2

    New

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    2…Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bb4 5.Ne2 Na5 6.a3

    New

  12. Line 12 · 4% at top level

    2…Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bb4 5.Ne2 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.f4

    New

  13. Line 13 · 4% at top level

    2…Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.f4

    New

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

Nihal Sarin's main line in the Vienna Game, move by move

The most common line at top level: 2…Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Be7 6.Qxe5 O-O 7.Qf4.

  1. 2…Nf6 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 2…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 61% of the time.
  2. 3.Bc4 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 3.Bc4 in 14 games, scoring 68%.
  3. 3…Nxe4 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 3…Nxe4. At top level, this comes up about 31% of the time.
  4. 4.Qh5 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 4.Qh5 in 7 games, scoring 57%.
  5. 4…Nd6 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 4…Nd6.
  6. 5.Bb3 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 5.Bb3 in 7 games, scoring 57%.
  7. 5…Be7 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 5…Be7. At top level, this comes up about 22% of the time.
  8. 6.Qxe5 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 6.Qxe5 in 3 games, scoring 0%.
  9. 6…O-O Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 6…O-O.
  10. 7.Qf4 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 7.Qf4 in 2 games, scoring 0%.

Questions about this course

How does Nihal Sarin play the Vienna Game?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3, Nihal Sarin's most common line is 2…Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Be7 6.Qxe5 O-O 7.Qf4. At top level it comes up about 22% of the time.
Is this Nihal Sarin's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Nihal Sarin's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Vienna Game course based on?
31 of Nihal Sarin's Chess.com blitz games in the Vienna Game as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,127. Nihal Sarin scored 65% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
13 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 Nihal Sarin?
GM Nihal Sarin was ranked number 3 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,325 when this course was built.

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