In
chess
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
, the Elephant Trap is a faulty attempt by
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
to win a
pawn in a popular variation of the
Queen's Gambit Declined.
The earliest recorded occurrence of the trap seems to be the game
Karl Mayet–
Daniel Harrwitz, Berlin 1848.
K. Mayet vs. D. Harrwitz, Berlin 1848
Chessgames.com
The trap
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7
:This opening
Opening may refer to:
Types of openings
* Hole
* A title sequence or opening credits
* Grand opening of a business or other institution
* Inauguration
* Keynote
* Opening sentence
* Opening sequence
* Opening statement, a beginning statemen ...
sequence 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 at the time of the Mayet–Harrwitz game.) Black has set a trap; if White tries to win a pawn by ...
5. cxd5 exd5 6. Nxd5 (first diagram)
:White thinks that, because the black knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
on f6 is pinned to the queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
, it cannot be moved.
6... Nxd5 7. Bxd8 Bb4+ (second diagram)
:Black regains the queen as White has only one legal move to get out of check.
8. Qd2 Bxd2+
:Harrwitz played the equally good 8...Kxd8, intending 9...Bxd2+.
9. Kxd2 Kxd8
:Black comes out a ahead.
See also
* Légal Trap
References
Bibliography
*
{{Wiktionary, elephant trap
1848 in chess
Chess openings
Chess traps