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French Defense · As Black · updated October 2026

Play the French like S.L. Narayanan

A French repertoire built from 49 of S.L. Narayanan's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move S.L. Narayanan chose most often. Where S.L. Narayanan 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 S.L. Narayanan or Chess.com.

  • S.L. Narayanan was #46 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,201) and scored 74% against opponents averaging 2,837 in these games.
  • You play S.L. Narayanan's own move in 10 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#46

Chess.com

Rating

3,201

Games

49

in this opening

Score

74%

in these games

Opponents

2,837

average rating

More about S.L. Narayanan

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 · 8% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Rb8 8.Qd2 Qa5

  2. Line 2 · 8% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.Nf3 Nd7

  3. Line 3 · 7% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Nf3 c5

  4. Line 4 · 7% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.exd5 exd5

  5. Line 5 · 6% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Ngf3 cxd4 6.Bc4 Qd7 7.O-O Nc6 8.Nb3 a6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4

  6. Line 6 · 6% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 cxd4 7.cxd4 Bb5 8.Nc3 Bxe2 9.Qxe2 Ne7 10.O-O Nbc6

  7. Line 7 · 6% at top level

    2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 Nc6 4.Ngf3 Nf6

  8. Line 8 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 Qc7

  9. Line 9 · 5% at top level

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

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

S.L. Narayanan's main line in the French, move by move

The most common line at top level: 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Rb8 8.Qd2 Qa5.

  1. 2.d4 Reply · S.L. Narayanan's games A common reply here is 2.d4. At top level, this comes up about 88% of the time.
  2. 2…d5 Your move · S.L. Narayanan's games S.L. Narayanan played 2…d5 in 31 games, scoring 76%.
  3. 3.Nc3 Reply · S.L. Narayanan's games A common reply here is 3.Nc3. At top level, this comes up about 40% of the time.
  4. 3…Nf6 Your move · S.L. Narayanan's games S.L. Narayanan played 3…Nf6 in 6 games, scoring 92%.
  5. 4.e5 Reply · S.L. Narayanan's games A common reply here is 4.e5. At top level, this comes up about 20% of the time.
  6. 4…Nfd7 Your move · S.L. Narayanan's games S.L. Narayanan played 4…Nfd7 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  7. 5.f4 Reply · S.L. Narayanan's games A common reply here is 5.f4. At top level, this comes up about 13% of the time.
  8. 5…c5 Your move · Top-50 players S.L. Narayanan has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  9. 6.Nf3 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 6.Nf3. At top level, this comes up about 12% of the time.
  10. 6…Nc6 Your move · Top-50 players S.L. Narayanan has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  11. 7.Be3 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 7.Be3. At top level, this comes up about 12% of the time.
  12. 7…Rb8 Your move · Top-50 players S.L. Narayanan has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  13. 8.Qd2 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 8.Qd2. At top level, this comes up about 8% of the time.
  14. 8…Qa5 Your move · Top-50 players S.L. Narayanan has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.

Questions about this course

How does S.L. Narayanan play the French?
After 1.e4 e6, S.L. Narayanan's most common line is 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Rb8 8.Qd2 Qa5. At top level it comes up about 8% of the time.
Is this S.L. Narayanan's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from S.L. Narayanan's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this French course based on?
49 of S.L. Narayanan's Chess.com blitz games in the French Defense as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 2,837. S.L. Narayanan scored 74% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
9 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 S.L. Narayanan?
GM S.L. Narayanan was ranked number 46 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,201 when this course was built.