Chess Openings Lab
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Elephant Trap

White takes the d5 pawn with 6.Nxd5, trusting the pin on the f6 knight. Black breaks the pin with 6...Nxd5, and after 7.Bxd8 Bb4+ White must give the queen back, ending up a piece down.

Opening
Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation, Knight Defense
Moves
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Nxd5 Nxd5 7.Bxd8 Bb4+ 8.Qd2 Bxd2+ 9.Kxd2 Kxd8
Set by
Black
The mistake
6.Nxd5
Checked
every move legal; result confirmed by Stockfish 17.1

How the trap works

The Elephant Trap is a Queen's Gambit Declined line: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7. After 5.cxd5 exd5, White sees a tempting idea. The knight on f6 is pinned to the black queen by the bishop on g5, so the d5 pawn looks free.

  • 6.Nxd5? is the mistake. White counts on the pin and grabs the pawn.
  • 6...Nxd5! breaks the pin anyway. The black queen on d8 is now attacked.
  • 7.Bxd8 takes the queen. It looks like White has won the queen for a knight.
  • 7...Bb4+ is the point: an in-between check from the bishop that used to sit on f8.
  • 8.Qd2 is White's only block, and the queen is lost to 8...Bxd2+.
  • After 9.Kxd2 Kxd8 Black has recovered the queen and is up a knight for a pawn.

The tactical idea is that a pin against the queen is not absolute. Black gives the queen to win time, then uses a check to win the white queen back. The check works because the c3 knight has left, so nothing stands between the bishop on b4 and the king on e1.

The exact moment it goes wrong is 6.Nxd5. Up to that move, the evaluation is close to level. Right after it, Black is winning a piece. The pawn on d5 was defended by the f6 knight, and the pin did not change that.

For White, the cure is to develop with e3 or Nf3 and play the normal Queen's Gambit Declined plans. For Black, it is worth knowing that 4...Nbd7 sets this trap at no cost. Many players reach the position from a sound move order and the trap simply waits.

How White avoids it

White should simply develop with e3 or Nf3. The d5 pawn is defended by the knight on f6 and is not a free pawn, and normal development keeps a level game.

Questions

How does the Elephant Trap work?

The pin on f6 is only against the queen. After 6...Nxd5 7.Bxd8, Black plays 7...Bb4+, an in-between check, and White's only block on d2 loses the queen. After the trades, Black has a knight for a pawn.

What is the losing move in the Elephant Trap?

White's mistake is 6.Nxd5. White should simply develop with e3 or Nf3. The d5 pawn is defended by the knight on f6 and is not a free pawn, and normal development keeps a level game.

Is the Elephant Trap worth playing for?

Yes for Black, because 4...Nbd7 is a normal Queen's Gambit Declined move. The evaluations stay close to level until White takes on d5, so Black loses nothing by setting it.

Where it comes from

More opening traps