In chess

Chess

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

, the Elephant Trap is a faulty attempt by White to win a pawn

Pawn (chess)

The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...

 in a popular variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined

Queen's Gambit Declined

The Queen's Gambit Declined is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit:This is known as the Orthodox Line 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

Karl Mayet

Carl Mayet was a German chess master.He was one of the most original of the Berlin Pleiades ....

–Daniel Harrwitz

Daniel Harrwitz

Daniel Harrwitz was a Jewish German chess master.Harrwitz was born in Breslau in the Prussian Province of Silesia. He established his reputation in Paris, particularly as a player of blindfold games...

, Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 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

Cambridge Springs Defense

In chess, the Cambridge Springs Defense is a variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined and begins with the moves:-Background:...

 with 5.Nf3 c6 6.e3 Qa5, but it can also lead to the Orthodox Defense if Black plays ...Be7. (The Cambridge Springs opening 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??

White thinks that the black knight

Knight (chess)

The knight is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights, which begin on the row closest to the player, one square from the corner...

 on f6 is pinned

Pin (chess)

In chess, a pin is a situation brought on by an attacking piece in which a defending piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable defending piece on its other side to capture by the attacking piece...

 to the queen

Queen (chess)

The queen is the most powerful piece in the game of chess, able to move any number of squares vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of the first rank next to the king. With the chessboard oriented correctly, the white queen starts...

 and cannot be moved.

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+

Harrwitz played the equally good 8...Kxd8, intending 9...Bxd2+.

9. Kxd2 Kxd8

Black comes out a minor piece ahead.

External links

• Elephant trap at chessgames.com