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French Defense · As Black · updated October 2026

Play the French like Alireza Firouzja

A French repertoire built from 42 of Alireza Firouzja's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Alireza Firouzja chose most often. Where Alireza Firouzja 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 Alireza Firouzja or Chess.com.

  • Alireza Firouzja was #11 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,284) and scored 65% against opponents averaging 3,155 in these games.
  • You play Alireza Firouzja's own move in 26 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#11

Chess.com

Rating

3,284

Games

42

in this opening

Score

65%

in these games

Opponents

3,155

average rating

More about Alireza Firouzja

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 · 12% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ngf3 g5 8.dxc5 g4

  2. Line 2 · 11% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qd2 Rb8 9.dxc5 Nxc5 10.h4 Bd7 11.h5 h6 12.O-O-O b5

  3. Line 3 · 10% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.h4 a6

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ngf3 g5 8.h3 h5

  5. Line 5 · 6% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Bd3 Ne7 6.O-O Nbc6 7.Re1 O-O

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ne2 cxd4 8.cxd4 f6 9.exf6 Nxf6

  7. Line 7 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 f6 7.O-O fxe5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.dxe5 Qc7 10.Re1 O-O-O 11.a4 Qxe5 12.Na3 Nf6 13.Bf3 Qf5

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

Alireza Firouzja's main line in the French, move by move

The most common line at top level: 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ngf3 g5 8.dxc5 g4.

  1. 2.d4 Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 2.d4. At top level, this comes up about 86% of the time.
  2. 2…d5 Your move · Alireza Firouzja's games Alireza Firouzja played 2…d5 in 36 games, scoring 69%.
  3. 3.Nd2 Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 3.Nd2. At top level, this comes up about 24% of the time.
  4. 3…Nf6 Your move · Alireza Firouzja's games Alireza Firouzja played 3…Nf6 in 4 games, scoring 100%.
  5. 4.e5 Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 4.e5.
  6. 4…Nfd7 Your move · Alireza Firouzja's games Alireza Firouzja played 4…Nfd7 in 4 games, scoring 100%.
  7. 5.Bd3 Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 5.Bd3.
  8. 5…c5 Your move · Alireza Firouzja's games Alireza Firouzja played 5…c5 in 4 games, scoring 100%.
  9. 6.c3 Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 6.c3.
  10. 6…Nc6 Your move · Alireza Firouzja's games Alireza Firouzja played 6…Nc6 in 4 games, scoring 100%.
  11. 7.Ngf3 Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 7.Ngf3. At top level, this comes up about 18% of the time.
  12. 7…g5 Your move · Alireza Firouzja's games Alireza Firouzja played 7…g5 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  13. 8.dxc5 Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 8.dxc5. At top level, this comes up about 12% of the time.
  14. 8…g4 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Alireza Firouzja play the French?
After 1.e4 e6, Alireza Firouzja's most common line is 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ngf3 g5 8.dxc5 g4. At top level it comes up about 12% of the time.
Is this Alireza Firouzja's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Alireza Firouzja's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this French course based on?
42 of Alireza Firouzja's Chess.com blitz games in the French Defense as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 3,155. Alireza Firouzja scored 65% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
7 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 Alireza Firouzja?
GM Alireza Firouzja was ranked number 11 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,284 when this course was built.