Elephant Trap
White's knight takes a pawn that looks free because your knight is pinned. You take it anyway and come out a piece up.
37%of players rated around 800 take the pawn here
Your opponent's Chess.com rating
Playing White against it? Defend against it
Good to know
- Opening
- Queen's Gambit Declined
- You play
- Black
- The trap is set on
- Move 5
- What you win
- A knight
- If they do not bite
- A level game, nothing lost
- Games counted
- 422,036 on Lichess
How to defend against the Elephant Trap
Push your e pawn one square. 27% of players rated around 800 leave the pawn alone. Open the way for your bishop instead.
A level game.
The way out, move by move, as WhiteElephant Trap moves
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Nxd5 Nxd5 7.Bxd8 Bb4+ 8.Qd2 Bxd2+ 9.Kxd2 Kxd8
- 1.d4White pushes the queen's pawn
The other common first move.
- 1…d5Push your queen's pawn too
Meet White in the centre.
- 2.c4White plays the Queen's Gambit
The c pawn attacks your pawn on d5.
- 2…e6Defend with your e pawn
This is the Queen's Gambit Declined. Your pawn on d5 is safe.
- 3.Nc3White's knight comes out
The knight adds a second attacker to d5.
- 3…Nf6Bring your knight out
The knight adds a second defender.
- 4.Bg5The bishop pins your knight
If your knight on f6 moves, the bishop can take your queen.
- 4…Nbd7Bring your other knight to d7
A quiet move that sets the trap.
- 5.cxd5White takes the pawn
Take back with your e pawn.
- 5…exd5Take back with your pawn
Your pawn on d5 looks loose. You want White's knight to take it.
- 6.Nxd5The knight takes the pawn
37% of players rated around 800 take it. They think your knight cannot take back.
- 6…Nxd5Take the knight anyway
You let the bishop take your queen. You get a queen back in a moment.
- 7.Bxd8The bishop takes your queen
Now comes the point.
- 7…Bb4+Check with your bishop
The only way to block the check is with White's queen.
- 8.Qd2The queen blocks
Take her.
- 8…Bxd2+Take the queen with check
The king takes your bishop, and one piece is still hanging.
- 9.Kxd2The king takes your bishop
Now take the bishop that took your queen.
- 9…Kxd8Take the bishop with your king
The queens are gone and you are a knight up.
You win a knight.
See it one move at a timeElephant Trap questions
What if they do not fall for the Elephant Trap?
63% of players rated around 800 play something else. Then a level game, nothing lost.
How do you defend against the Elephant Trap?
As White, push your e pawn one square. 27% of players rated around 800 leave the pawn alone. Open the way for your bishop instead. A level game.
What do you win with the Elephant Trap?
A knight. In the main line, you win a knight.
At what rating does the Elephant Trap work?
It works best against players around 500, where 40% take the pawn. Against players at 2100 and up, 2% do.
More traps
All opening trapsCounted from the rated blitz, rapid and classical games on Lichess that reached this position. Ratings are shown as Chess.com ratings: the games are grouped by Lichess rating, which runs higher, and each group is named by the Chess.com rating it comes to in ChessGoals' comparison of players with an account on both. A rating with fewer than 300 such games shows no number.