Queen's Gambit Declined, Elephant Trap

In chess, the Elephant Trap is a faulty attempt by White 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.^[1]

This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7

This opening 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 ...