In order to split the two players who finished in equal first in the French Championship, a pair of rapid games were played. The time limit of 15 minutes (plus an increment of 5 seconds per move) made it fairly rapid as Rapid-play goes!
| Rapid game No. | White | Rating | Result | Black | Rating | Opening | No. of moves |
| 1 | Romain Edouard | 2620 | 0.5-0.5 | Laurent Fressinet | 2697 | Queen's Gambit Declined | 50 |
| 2 | Laurent Fressinet | 2697 | 1-0 | Romain Edouard | 2620 | Grünfeld Defence | 31 |
Fressinet finally becomes champion after getting close (but never close enough!) on several occasions.
A unique double this year in that his wife Almira Skripchenko is the 2010 French Women's champion!
After Belfort, the top three French players now have similar ratings.
| Rank | Name | Age | 1/7 Elo | 'Virtual' Elo |
| 1 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 19 | 2723 | 2721.1 |
| 2 | Etienne Bacrot | 27 | 2720 | 2715.2 |
| 3 | Laurent Fressinet | 28 | 2697 | 2717.4 |
So if all results were to count immediately, Fressinet would overtake Bacrot and be only four rating points behind Vachier-Lagrave at the top of the French pecking order.
Although three leading players being so close may seem to be an unusual phenomenon, the same thing is happening with the top three in the Ukraine: Eljanov, Ponomariov and Ivanchuk!
For more information see the Official site
