JAMESSHAPIRO

Chess Openings by Nationality

How often do the French play the French?

Chess Jingoism and Cosmopolitanism

James Shapiro · August 31, 2026

Country Opening National World Ratio Rank Players Games
France French      
    Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
    		   
    Netherlands Dutch      
      Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
      		   
      United Kingdom English      
        Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
        		   
        United KingdomPlayers may list either the United Kingdom or Scotland on Chess.com, so Scotch appears for both. The United Kingdom rows here combine players listing the United Kingdom, England, Scotland, or Wales; the Scotland row is also included in that UK total. Explore's United Kingdom entry includes only players using the United Kingdom flag. Scotch      
          Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
          		   
          United Kingdom London      
            Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
            		   
            ScotlandPlayers may list either the United Kingdom or Scotland on Chess.com, so Scotch appears for both. The United Kingdom rows here combine players listing the United Kingdom, England, Scotland, or Wales; the Scotland row is also included in that UK total. Explore's United Kingdom entry includes only players using the United Kingdom flag. Scotch      
              Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
              		   
              Italy Italian      
                Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
                		   
                Italy Sicilian      
                  Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
                  		   
                  Spain Spanish      
                    Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
                    		   
                    India Indian      
                      Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
                      		   
                      ScandinaviaScandinaviaworldScandinaviaSwedenNorwayDenmark Scandi      
                        Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
                        		   
                        MonarchiesAndorraBahrainBelgiumBhutanBruneiCambodiaDenmarkEswatiniJapanJordanKuwaitLesothoLiechtensteinLuxembourgMalaysiaMonacoMoroccoNetherlandsNorwayOmanQatarSaudi ArabiaSpainSwedenThailandTongaUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomKing's GambitQueen's Gambitworld K'sworld Q'sMonarchiesAndorraBahrainBelgiumBhutanBruneiCambodiaDenmarkEswatiniJapanJordanKuwaitLesothoLiechtensteinLuxembourgMalaysiaMonacoMoroccoNetherlandsNorwayOmanQatarSaudi ArabiaSpainSwedenThailandTongaUnited Arab EmiratesUnited Kingdom King's Gambit      
                          Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
                          		   
                          MonarchiesAndorraBahrainBelgiumBhutanBruneiCambodiaDenmarkEswatiniJapanJordanKuwaitLesothoLiechtensteinLuxembourgMalaysiaMonacoMoroccoNetherlandsNorwayOmanQatarSaudi ArabiaSpainSwedenThailandTongaUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomKing's GambitQueen's Gambitworld K'sworld Q'sMonarchiesAndorraBahrainBelgiumBhutanBruneiCambodiaDenmarkEswatiniJapanJordanKuwaitLesothoLiechtensteinLuxembourgMalaysiaMonacoMoroccoNetherlandsNorwayOmanQatarSaudi ArabiaSpainSwedenThailandTongaUnited Arab EmiratesUnited Kingdom Queen's Gambit      
                            Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
                            		   
                            Germany Berlin      
                              Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
                              		   
                              Hungary Hungarian      
                                Countries with at least 100 sampled players. Ranked by opening frequency; ties ordered by sample size, then country code. The UK combines its national flags.
                                		   

                                Last updated   ·   players ·   games

                                Methodology

                                To explore how often chess players play their national openings, an automated crawler continually scans Chess.com's 2026 games. Starting from randomly selected matches, it branches out to each player, their ten most recent opponents, and those opponents' ten most recent opponents. For all players in a sample, the crawler reviews their last hundred games to tally opening tendencies.

                                Each player carries equal weight in national and global averages and is never double-counted if encountered in a subsequent sample. An opening counts only for the player who chooses it: a player's French Defense percentage reflects how often they play it as Black. Games are categorized using the Lichess openings dataset to capture transpositions.

                                Because this crawler finds players through their opponents, it naturally samples active players more often than casual ones. Yet it avoids a distortion present in other reports like this one, which naively pool all games together.

                                That site-wide method answers the question: If you get matched against an opponent from France on Chess.com, how likely are they to play the French Defense against you?

                                My approach seeks to discover how often any given French player actually plays the French Defense. The results are reasonably consistent. As of September 14, 2026, we both find that the Dutch are the 20th most common player of the Dutch Defense, that South Koreans are the biggest partisans of the Italian, and that the French indeed favor the French.

                                Country and group results are included only with at least 100 sampled players (n ≥ 100), including in rankings and breakdowns. The explore tool shows the top-10 countries for each opening, and the top-10 openings (in total and by likelihood ratio) for each country.

                                Explore

                                French 1.e4 e6

                                French · top 10 of countries · % of games as Black

                                  world n ≥ 100