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French Defense · As Black · updated October 2026

Play the French like Fabiano Caruana

A French repertoire built from 63 of Fabiano Caruana's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Fabiano Caruana chose most often. Where Fabiano Caruana 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 Fabiano Caruana or Chess.com.

  • Fabiano Caruana was #13 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,271) and scored 71% against opponents averaging 2,863 in these games.
  • You play Fabiano Caruana's own move in 14 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#13

Chess.com

Rating

3,271

Games

63

in this opening

Score

71%

in these games

Opponents

2,863

average rating

More about Fabiano Caruana

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 16 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 12% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.Qg4 Kf8 7.dxc5 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Nd7 9.Nf3 Qc7

  2. Line 2 · 6% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.Bd2 Nc6

  3. Line 3 · 6% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.b4 cxd4 7.Qg4 Kf8

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.a3 c4 7.Nbd2 Na5

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Be7 4.e5 c5 5.c3 Nc6 6.Bd3 Qc7

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bd3 Nb4

  7. Line 7 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Nge7 7.Na3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Qb6 9.Nc2 Na5 10.O-O Bb5 11.b3 Bxe2 12.Qxe2 Rc8

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Ne2 Nf6 5.a3 Be7 6.e5 Nfd7

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 Ne7

  10. Line 10 · 3% 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

  11. Line 11 · 3% at top level

    2.Nf3 d5

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

Fabiano Caruana'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 Ba5 6.Qg4 Kf8 7.dxc5 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Nd7 9.Nf3 Qc7.

  1. 2.d4 Reply · Fabiano Caruana's games A common reply here is 2.d4. At top level, this comes up about 94% of the time.
  2. 2…d5 Your move · Fabiano Caruana's games Fabiano Caruana played 2…d5 in 59 games, scoring 70%.
  3. 3.Nc3 Reply · Fabiano Caruana's games A common reply here is 3.Nc3. At top level, this comes up about 41% of the time.
  4. 3…Bb4 Your move · Fabiano Caruana's games Fabiano Caruana played 3…Bb4 in 12 games, scoring 71%.
  5. 4.e5 Reply · Fabiano Caruana's games A common reply here is 4.e5. At top level, this comes up about 34% of the time.
  6. 4…c5 Your move · Fabiano Caruana's games Fabiano Caruana played 4…c5 in 9 games, scoring 72%.
  7. 5.a3 Reply · Fabiano Caruana's games A common reply here is 5.a3. At top level, this comes up about 31% of the time.
  8. 5…Ba5 Your move · Fabiano Caruana's games Fabiano Caruana played 5…Ba5 in 5 games, scoring 70%.
  9. 6.Qg4 Reply · Fabiano Caruana's games A common reply here is 6.Qg4. At top level, this comes up about 12% of the time.
  10. 6…Kf8 Your move · Top-50 players Fabiano Caruana has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  11. 7.dxc5 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 7.dxc5.
  12. 7…Bxc3+ Your move · Top-50 players Fabiano Caruana has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  13. 8.bxc3 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 8.bxc3.
  14. 8…Nd7 Your move · Top-50 players Fabiano Caruana has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  15. 9.Nf3 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 9.Nf3.
  16. 9…Qc7 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Fabiano Caruana play the French?
After 1.e4 e6, Fabiano Caruana's most common line is 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.Qg4 Kf8 7.dxc5 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Nd7 9.Nf3 Qc7. At top level it comes up about 12% of the time.
Is this Fabiano Caruana's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Fabiano Caruana's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this French course based on?
63 of Fabiano Caruana's Chess.com blitz games in the French Defense as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 2,863. Fabiano Caruana scored 71% 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 Fabiano Caruana?
GM Fabiano Caruana was ranked number 13 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,271 when this course was built.