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French Defense · As Black · updated October 2026

Play the French like Nihal Sarin

A French repertoire built from 30 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 (3,365) and scored 57% against opponents averaging 3,063 in these games.
  • You play Nihal Sarin's own move in 12 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#3

Chess.com

Rating

3,365

Games

30

in this opening

Score

57%

in these games

Opponents

3,063

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 14 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 10% 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 · 10% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Rb8 8.h4 Qb6

  3. Line 3 · 9% at top level

    2.Nf3 d5 3.d3 c5

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Nxf6+ Bxf6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 8.Nf3 O-O

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.c4 Nf6 6.c5 Be7 7.Bd3 O-O

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.Bd3 c5

  7. Line 7 · 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

  8. Line 8 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5

  9. Line 9 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Rb8 8.a3 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bc5 10.Qd2 O-O 11.Be2 a6 12.O-O Nxd4 13.Bxd4 Qb6

  10. Line 10 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Nge7

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

Nihal Sarin'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 · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 2.d4. At top level, this comes up about 83% of the time.
  2. 2…d5 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 2…d5 in 25 games, scoring 54%.
  3. 3.Nc3 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 3.Nc3. At top level, this comes up about 50% of the time.
  4. 3…Nf6 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 3…Nf6 in 7 games, scoring 50%.
  5. 4.e5 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 4.e5. At top level, this comes up about 29% of the time.
  6. 4…Nfd7 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 4…Nfd7 in 4 games, scoring 25%.
  7. 5.f4 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 5.f4.
  8. 5…c5 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 5…c5 in 4 games, scoring 25%.
  9. 6.Nf3 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 6.Nf3.
  10. 6…Nc6 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 6…Nc6 in 4 games, scoring 25%.
  11. 7.Be3 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 7.Be3.
  12. 7…Rb8 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 7…Rb8 in 3 games, scoring 33%.
  13. 8.Qd2 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 8.Qd2. At top level, this comes up about 10% of the time.
  14. 8…Qa5 Your move · Top-50 players Nihal Sarin has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.

Questions about this course

How does Nihal Sarin play the French?
After 1.e4 e6, Nihal Sarin'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 10% 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 French course based on?
30 of Nihal Sarin's Chess.com blitz games in the French Defense as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 3,063. Nihal Sarin scored 57% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
10 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 3,365 when this course was built.