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French Defense · As Black · updated October 2026

Play the French like Abhimanyu Mishra

A French repertoire built from 75 of Abhimanyu Mishra's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Abhimanyu Mishra chose most often. Where Abhimanyu Mishra 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 Abhimanyu Mishra or Chess.com.

  • Abhimanyu Mishra was #22 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,246) and scored 54% against opponents averaging 3,024 in these games.
  • You play Abhimanyu Mishra's own move in 38 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#22

Chess.com

Rating

3,246

Games

75

in this opening

Score

54%

in these games

Opponents

3,024

average rating

More about Abhimanyu Mishra

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 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.exd5 exd5 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 O-O 8.Ne2 Bg4

  2. Line 2 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 Qc7 8.Bd3 c4 9.Be2 Qa5 10.Bd2 Nf5 11.h4 Qa4

  3. Line 3 · 5% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Nge7 7.O-O Ng6

  4. Line 4 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Nf3 b6

  5. Line 5 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 Qc7 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 10.Ne2 Nbc6 11.f4 dxc3

  6. Line 6 · 4% at top level

    2.Nf3 d5

  7. Line 7 · 4% at top level

    2.Qe2 b6 3.Nf3 Ba6

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 Bd6 9.Qe2 e5

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.dxc5 Nf6

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 c5

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

Abhimanyu Mishra's main line in the French, move by move

The most common line at top level: 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.exd5 exd5 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 O-O 8.Ne2 Bg4.

  1. 2.d4 Reply · Abhimanyu Mishra's games A common reply here is 2.d4. At top level, this comes up about 89% of the time.
  2. 2…d5 Your move · Abhimanyu Mishra's games Abhimanyu Mishra played 2…d5 in 67 games, scoring 55%.
  3. 3.Nc3 Reply · Abhimanyu Mishra's games A common reply here is 3.Nc3. At top level, this comes up about 45% of the time.
  4. 3…Bb4 Your move · Abhimanyu Mishra's games Abhimanyu Mishra played 3…Bb4 in 32 games, scoring 53%.
  5. 4.exd5 Reply · Abhimanyu Mishra's games A common reply here is 4.exd5. At top level, this comes up about 13% of the time.
  6. 4…exd5 Your move · Abhimanyu Mishra's games Abhimanyu Mishra played 4…exd5 in 9 games, scoring 44%.
  7. 5.Bd3 Reply · Abhimanyu Mishra's games A common reply here is 5.Bd3. At top level, this comes up about 11% of the time.
  8. 5…Nf6 Your move · Abhimanyu Mishra's games Abhimanyu Mishra played 5…Nf6 in 8 games, scoring 50%.
  9. 6.a3 Reply · Abhimanyu Mishra's games A common reply here is 6.a3. At top level, this comes up about 7% of the time.
  10. 6…Bxc3+ Your move · Abhimanyu Mishra's games Abhimanyu Mishra played 6…Bxc3+ in 4 games, scoring 50%.
  11. 7.bxc3 Reply · Abhimanyu Mishra's games A common reply here is 7.bxc3.
  12. 7…O-O Your move · Abhimanyu Mishra's games Abhimanyu Mishra played 7…O-O in 4 games, scoring 50%.
  13. 8.Ne2 Reply · Abhimanyu Mishra's games A common reply here is 8.Ne2. At top level, this comes up about 5% of the time.
  14. 8…Bg4 Your move · Abhimanyu Mishra's games Abhimanyu Mishra played 8…Bg4 in 3 games, scoring 33%.

Questions about this course

How does Abhimanyu Mishra play the French?
After 1.e4 e6, Abhimanyu Mishra's most common line is 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.exd5 exd5 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 O-O 8.Ne2 Bg4. At top level it comes up about 5% of the time.
Is this Abhimanyu Mishra's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Abhimanyu Mishra's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this French course based on?
75 of Abhimanyu Mishra's Chess.com blitz games in the French Defense as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 3,024. Abhimanyu Mishra scored 54% 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 Abhimanyu Mishra?
GM Abhimanyu Mishra was ranked number 22 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,246 when this course was built.