1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 *
The Elephant Trap is a famous trap in the Queen’s Gambit Declined played with the Black pieces. It’s a simply trap that countless players, mostly amateurs, have fallen into.
The Elephant Trap is likely named the the “Elephant” because the word, Bishop, means Elephant in Russian, describing the Bishop moving to b4 for the trap.
This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. For more information, see our step-by-step guide on how to read descriptive Chess Notation.
Main Line
On 4…Nbd7, Black has set the trap.
Origins
The earliest recorded game where this trap occurred was in the game Karl Mayet vs Daniel Harrwitz in 1848, the game is appropriately called, “The Oldest trick in the Book”.[1]
Example
I hope this guide on the Elephant Trap helped you. if you liked this post, you may want to learn other Chess Traps like the Halosar Trap and Noah’s Ark Trap.