Opening Traps/know them from both sides/D35/You play Black

The Elephant Trap

The f6-knight looks pinned and d5 looks loose. Take it, and the knight takes back anyway. The queen is given up, and won back with a piece to spare.

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Stockfish+0.36

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The Elephant TrapFoundationThe Queen's Gambit Declined's famous ambush. White thinks the f6-knight is pinned and grabs d5. But the knight takes back anyway, gives up the queen, and a bishop check on b4 wins her straight back with a piece to spare.9 moves Sidestepping it: 6.e3as WhiteFoundation8 moves Deep dive: the endgame a piece upStructure10 moves

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.

StartBefore the first move

The starting position. White moves first, and that single tempo is the whole reason opening theory exists.

The moves in the text are buttons. Press one and the board beside it shows the position.

The idea in one paragraph

In the Queen's Gambit Declined after , the f6-knight looks pinned against the queen, and after the d5-pawn looks guarded only by that knight, because the d7-knight has shut the queen off from it. grabs it, and the knight takes back anyway: , and Black is a piece for a pawn up. The pin was not a pin, because the capture on d5 removed the c3-knight that had been blocking the check on the a5–e1 diagonal.

The pawn structure

The Exchange Queen's Gambit: after cxd5 exd5 White has two queenside pawns against three, and once Black plays ...c6 it is the Carlsbad structure. The trap lives in the moment before ...c6, when d5's only piece guard is a knight that looks pinned.

The plans

♔ White’s plans

After , just develop with or and leave d5 alone.
Check the pin before you trust it: a pinned knight can still move if its move wins more than the queen.
Once Black has played ...c6 and ...Be7, the position is a normal Carlsbad, and the minority attack is the plan.

♚ Black’s plans

Play ...Nbd7 as a normal developing move. It costs nothing and sets the trap in every game.
If White takes on d5, take back with the knight and give up the queen: ...Bb4+ wins her back with a piece to spare.
Against , play ...Be7 and ...c6: the pin is gone and d5 has a pawn guard.

Traps and things that lose games

The Elephant Trap

. The cure: or .

Its cousin with the same idea, from the Italian

Legal's Mate, where it is a knight pinned against a queen that walks out of the pin.

1.d4 d5 players from both sides. The Queen's Gambit Declined with ...Nbd7 is one of the most common positions in chess, and the trap is set in every game that reaches it.

Your learning path: The Elephant Trap

Beginner

One trap from both chairs: set it with a normal developing move as Black, and leave d5 alone as White.

FoundationOne sitting
Goal. Spring it as Black, and never fall for it as White.
- Why d5 looks loose: the d7-knight shuts the queen off from it, and the f6-knight looks pinned.
- Why it is not: ...Nxd5 removes the c3-knight, and ...Bb4+ wins the queen back.
- From White's chair: 6.e3 or 6.Nf3, and d5 stays where it is.
DrillDrill the trap as Black, then the sidestep as White. Then set up the position after 5...exd5 and count what Black gets if White takes on d5.
Common mistakeTaking back on d8 with the king. 7...Bb4+ first wins the queen back; 7...Kxd8 leaves Black with two minor pieces for the queen and a pawn.
Move on whenYou can explain the trap in one sentence: the capture on d5 opens the diagonal for the check that wins the queen back.
StructureAfter the Queen's Gambit chapter
Goal. Know the Carlsbad you reach when nobody falls for it.
- The Carlsbad card: the minority attack for White, and ...a5 and the kingside for Black.
- The deep dive: a piece up in an endgame, and how to finish developing.
DrillPlay the position after 8.Nf3 from both sides against an engine, then the deep-dive position as Black.
Common mistakeTaking on d5 later, when the trap is gone, because it worked once. After ...Be7 the knight is free and d5 has a pawn guard.
Move on whenYou play the Exchange Queen's Gambit from either side as a normal opening, with the trap as a bonus.

Whose games to study

Wikipedia's Elephant Trap article gives the move order and the trap's history; the Carlsbad card on this site covers the structure. Every evaluation here comes from Stockfish at depth twenty.

What to learn after this

The Queen's Gambit course, for the rest of the Declined.