If a move looks unpromising (late in move ordering), Stockfish reduces the search depth for it.
allot more bandwidth for more promising lines
✔ Meaning
“Bad-looking moves don’t deserve full attention.”
✔ How engine decides a move is late
Moves are sorted by:
- Best moves from previous iteration
- Captures
- Killer moves
- Quiet/boring moves
Moves at the bottom of this list are “late”.
✔ What Stockfish does
Instead of searching, say, depth 20 →
It may search depth 12 for a bad move.
If something surprising happens (like a hidden tactic), it re-searches that move fully.
✔ Benefit
Saves time and focuses on promising moves.
Referenced in:
All notes