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Queen's Gambit · As White · updated October 2026

Play the Queen's Gambit like Nihal Sarin

A Queen's Gambit repertoire built from 31 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 68% against opponents averaging 3,200 in these games.
  • You play Nihal Sarin's own move in 5 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

31

in this opening

Score

68%

in these games

Opponents

3,200

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 · 28% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bf4 Bf5 7.e3 Be7 8.h3 h6 9.Nh4

  2. Line 2 · 10% at top level

    2…c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be2 O-O 7.O-O

  3. Line 3 · 7% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qb3 c5 6.dxc5

  5. Line 5 · 6% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Qc2 c6 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Nh5 10.e3 Nxg3 11.hxg3 Nb6 12.Bd3

  6. Line 6 · 6% at top level

    2…c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Bd2

  7. Line 7 · 4% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qb3 a5 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.a3

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    2…c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nbd2 Nbd7 6.Bd3

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    2…c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Bd2

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nf3 Be7 4.g3 Nf6 5.Bg2 O-O 6.Nc3

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nf3 c6 4.g3

  12. Line 12 · 4% at top level

    2…dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4

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

Nihal Sarin's main line in the Queen's Gambit, move by move

The most common line at top level: 2…e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bf4 Bf5 7.e3 Be7 8.h3 h6 9.Nh4.

  1. 2…e6 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 2…e6. At top level, this comes up about 65% of the time.
  2. 3.Nf3 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 3.Nf3 in 17 games, scoring 85%.
  3. 3…Nf6 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 3…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 57% of the time.
  4. 4.Nc3 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 4.Nc3 in 8 games, scoring 81%.
  5. 4…c6 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 4…c6. At top level, this comes up about 28% of the time.
  6. 5.cxd5 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 5.cxd5 in 2 games, scoring 100%.
  7. 5…exd5 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 5…exd5.
  8. 6.Bf4 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.
  9. 6…Bf5 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 6…Bf5.
  10. 7.e3 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.
  11. 7…Be7 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 7…Be7.
  12. 8.h3 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.
  13. 8…h6 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 8…h6.
  14. 9.Nh4 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Nihal Sarin play the Queen's Gambit?
After 1.d4 d5 2.c4, Nihal Sarin's most common line is 2…e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bf4 Bf5 7.e3 Be7 8.h3 h6 9.Nh4. At top level it comes up about 28% 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 Queen's Gambit course based on?
31 of Nihal Sarin's Chess.com blitz games in the Queen's Gambit as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,200. Nihal Sarin scored 68% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
12 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.