Games - Elephant Trap

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	Games - Elephant Trap

In chess, the Elephant Trap is a faulty attempt by White to win a pawn in a popular variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined. This simple trap has snared thousands of players, generally amateurs. The earliest recorded occurrence of this trap seems to be Karl Mayet–Daniel Harrwitz, Berlin 1848.

:1. d4 d5 :2. c4 e6 :3. Nc3 Nf6 :4. Bg5 Nbd7

This sequence of opening moves usually indicates that Black intends to play the Cambridge Springs Defense with 5.Nf3 c6 6.e3 Qa5, but it can also lead to the Orthodox Defense if Black plays ...Be7. (The Cambridge Springs had not yet been invented in 1848 when Mayet–Harrwitz was played.) Black has set a trap: if White tries to win a pawn by

:5. cxd5 exd5 :6. Nxd5?

(See diagram.) White expects that the black knight on f6 is pinned to the queen and can't be moved. But

:6. ... Nxd5! :7. Bxd8 Bb4+

(See diagram.) Black regains the queen as White has only one legal move to get out of check.

:8. Qd2 Bxd2+ :9. Kxd2 Kxd8

Black is a piece ahead.

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