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The Elephant Trap

The d5 pawn looks loose because the knight on f6 is pinned, but the pin is not real.

Opening: Queen's Gambit Declined. Set by Black. Level: Intermediate.

The 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

It only works after a mistake

White must play Nxd5 for it to work. Black's ...Nbd7 is a normal, sound move, so the trap costs nothing.

How to avoid it

e3 or Nf3, keep developing.

Practise setting and escaping it