What the top 50 Chess.com blitz players actually play (6,843 games)
What do the strongest blitz players on Chess.com actually play? We took the top 50 of the Chess.com live blitz leaderboard (46 GMs, 3 IMs and 1 FM; blitz ratings 3192–3477 on Oct 20, 2026) and pulled each player's most recent rated blitz games: 6,843 games (7,142 player-games), played Mar 21, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026 (73% of them since September 1). 74% were 3-minute games and 25% 5-minute. Score means points per game for the top player (win 1, draw ½). They averaged 3229 in these games against opponents averaging 3056, and scored 73% with White and 67% with Black, so judge every number below against those two averages.
Short answer
- First move: 1.e4 (21), 1.d4 (20), 1.Nf3 (7) are the favourite first moves of the 50 players. By games, 1.e4 was played in 37% of their White games and 1.d4 in 36%.
- Against 1.e4 they chose the Sicilian Defense most (585 of 1,606 games, 69%), then 1...e5 (Open Games) (451).
- Against 1.d4 they mostly answered 1...Nf6 (668 of 1,212 games, 63%), then 1...d5 (322).
- Hardest defence to face: with White, they scored only 58% against the Slav Defense (64 games), against a 73% White average.
- Hardest White setup to face: with Black, they scored 55% against the Italian Game (116 games), against a 67% Black average.
1. First moves with White
Each player's single most-played first move: 1.e4 21, 1.d4 20, 1.Nf3 7, 1.Nc3 1, 1.c4 1 (out of 50). For comparison, among the top 100 titled Lichess players (mostly bullet) the split is 1.e4 44, 1.d4 31, 1.Nf3 18 (the Lichess version of this guide), so 1.d4 is relatively more popular at the top of Chess.com blitz in these two samples.
| First move | Games | Share of White games | Players who used it | Their score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.e4 | 1,347 | 37% | 45 | 73% |
| 1.d4 | 1,292 | 36% | 45 | 74% |
| 1.Nf3 | 519 | 14% | 36 | 74% |
| 1.c4 | 230 | 6% | 29 | 71% |
| 1.Nc3 | 76 | 2% | 6 | 64% |
| 1.b3 | 58 | 2% | 20 | 74% |
| Everything else | 91 | 3% | under 30 games each |
The four most-played first moves (1.e4, 1.d4, 1.Nf3, 1.c4) score within 3 points of each other (71–74%), which is noise at this level: none of them is "better" here.
2. What they play against 1.e4
1,606 games where a top player had Black against 1.e4 (they scored 68% overall in them).
| Reply | Games | Share | Players who used it | Their score with Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1...c5: Sicilian Defense | 585 | 36% | 45 | 69% |
| 1...e5 (Open Games) | 451 | 28% | 45 | 66% |
| 1...e6: French Defense | 176 | 11% | 24 | 70% |
| 1...c6: Caro-Kann Defense | 124 | 8% | 30 | 68% |
| 1...d5: Scandinavian Defense | 80 | 5% | 9 | 68% |
| 1...g6: Modern Defense | 64 | 4% | 17 | 66% |
| 1...Nc6: Nimzowitsch Defense | 39 | 2% | 7 | 73% |
| 1...d6: Pirc Defense | 35 | 2% | 12 | 56% |
| 1...b6: Owen's Defense | 31 | 2% | 6 | 65% |
| Everything else | 21 | 1% | under 30 games each |
3. What they play against 1.d4
1,212 games where a top player had Black against 1.d4 (they scored 64% overall in them). After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 the most common reply was 2...e6 (473 games), then 2...g6 (186).
| Reply | Games | Share | Players who used it | Their score with Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1...Nf6 (Indian Defenses) | 668 | 55% | 45 | 63% |
| 1...d5 (Queen's Gambit and Closed Games) | 322 | 27% | 39 | 64% |
| 1...e6 | 87 | 7% | 12 | 66% |
| 1...g6 (Modern) | 38 | 3% | 15 | 71% |
| 1...d6 | 38 | 3% | 17 | 66% |
| Everything else | 59 | 5% | under 30 games each |
4. The 20 most-played openings
Grouped by Chess.com's own opening names (from each game's ECO link). Counts include both sides: "with White" means the top player had White in that opening, whoever chose it. Scores on fewer than 30 games are marked as small samples.
| Opening (Chess.com name) | Games | Top players with White | Score | Top players with Black | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sicilian Defense | 1102 | 528 | 74% | 611 | 69% |
| English Opening | 596 | 368 | 72% | 253 | 68% |
| Queen's Gambit | 534 | 309 | 71% | 258 | 64% |
| Indian Game | 341 | 178 | 75% | 182 | 65% |
| Queen's Pawn Opening | 328 | 163 | 73% | 176 | 61% |
| French Defense | 327 | 147 | 77% | 188 | 71% |
| Ruy Lopez | 275 | 150 | 60% | 144 | 69% |
| King's Indian Defense | 273 | 157 | 74% | 126 | 60% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 262 | 145 | 76% | 122 | 68% |
| Réti Opening | 216 | 115 | 73% | 121 | 72% |
| Italian Game | 212 | 110 | 75% | 116 | 55% |
| Nimzo-Indian Defense | 161 | 85 | 71% | 88 | 70% |
| Modern Defense | 156 | 81 | 71% | 78 | 74% |
| King's Indian Attack | 142 | 80 | 75% | 68 | 69% |
| Scandinavian Defense | 139 | 64 | 68% | 85 | 71% |
| London System | 127 | 90 | 71% | 46 | 58% |
| Slav Defense | 127 | 64 | 58% | 74 | 68% |
| Pirc Defense | 114 | 52 | 82% | 67 | 66% |
| Four Knights Game | 113 | 46 | 66% | 75 | 77% |
| Trompowsky Attack | 109 | 67 | 74% | 46 | 75% |
"Indian Game" is Chess.com's name for 1.d4 Nf6 lines that don't reach a named defence (for example 2.Nf3 and London-style set-ups); "Queen's Pawn Opening" is mostly 1.d4 d5 without an early c4. "Queen's Gambit" includes the Declined and Accepted lines.
5. The openings that are hardest to face
Defences, ranked by how the top players scored facing them with White (30+ games):
| Opening | Games with top player as White | Their score | vs their White average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slav Defense | 64 | 58% | -15 |
| Scandinavian Defense | 64 | 68% | -5 |
| Nimzo-Indian Defense | 85 | 71% | -2 |
| Modern Defense | 81 | 71% | -2 |
| Grünfeld Defense | 36 | 72% | -1 |
White set-ups, ranked by how the top players scored facing them with Black (30+ games):
| Opening | Games with top player as Black | Their score | vs their Black average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italian Game | 116 | 55% | -12 |
| Catalan Opening | 31 | 55% | -12 |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack | 30 | 57% | -10 |
| London System | 46 | 58% | -9 |
| English Opening | 253 | 68% | +1 |
One more surprise from their own choices: the Ruy Lopez was their lowest-scoring White opening (60% in 150 games, against 73% overall with White).
And the specific four-move lines (30+ games from that side) where they scored lowest:
- 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6: 61% in 46 games with White (average 73%)
- 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6: 65% in 33 games with White (average 73%)
- 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6: 66% in 180 games with White (average 73%)
- 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6: 51% in 41 games with Black (average 67%)
- 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6: 60% in 35 games with Black (average 67%)
- 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6: 61% in 251 games with Black (average 67%)
6. What this means for your Chess.com games
- You don't need a special blitz opening. The top 50 play the same mainstream openings you know: 1.e4 and 1.d4, the Sicilian and 1...e5, 1...Nf6 against 1.d4. What separates them is how well they know their own lines.
- Quiet, solid openings were the hardest to beat. In this sample the lowest scores came against the Slav Defense (with White) and the Italian Game and London System (with Black). If you lose a lot of blitz games in the opening, a solid repertoire you can play fast is worth more than a sharp one you half-remember.
- Your real opponent matters more than the average. These are averages across 50 players; the person you meet in a Chess.com league, club match or online tournament has their own favourite lines and their own weak spots. Check them first: our free opponent preview shows any Chess.com player's top openings with each colour in seconds, and the routine is in how to prepare for a Chess.com opponent.
Prefer Lichess? See what the top 100 titled Lichess players play and the best openings for blitz, ranked by titled players' scores. Every opening guide has plans and data for one opening.
Method: the top 50 players of the Chess.com live blitz leaderboard (api.chess.com/pub/leaderboards, 2026-10-20), each player's most recent rated blitz games (standard chess only, up to 150 per player, at most six monthly archives back) from the public Chess.com Published-Data API. 7,142 player-games from 6,843 unique games; a game between two players in the sample counts once for each of them in the scores. Openings are Chess.com's names from each game's ECO link, with a few families merged (for example the Alapin and Closed Sicilian into the Sicilian, and the Giuoco Piano into the Italian Game). Rows with fewer than 30 games are left out or marked as small samples. Data file: chesscom_blitz_data.json. OpeningSpy is independent and not affiliated with Chess.com.