From 6f97594eda9e50dd22e237abcb636d426727ef07 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Dalton Hanaway <dhanaway@u.rochester.edu>
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2026 13:03:44 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] prefetch the TT entry as soon as the move is known

Worker::do_move computes the successor hash key via the new
Position::key_after(m) and prefetches the TT entry one full do_move
earlier than the existing prefetch in Position::do_move. key_after does
not model castling, en passant or promotion keys exactly; for rare
moves the prefetch lands on an unused line.

`key_after` has been around since 2014 (https://github.com/official-stockfish/Stockfish/commit/82d065b0) and was removed in (https://github.com/official-stockfish/Stockfish/pull/5770). Adding back `prefetch_key` helps in common, normal moves at the cost of extra compute.

Speedup (PGO vs PGO, interleaved paired bench, n=48 pairs, Apple M2
Pro / apple-silicon): +0.69% [0.47, 0.91]

Passed STC:
https://tests.stockfishchess.org/tests/view/6a291f8d7c758d82accea17f
LLR: 4.24 (-2.94,2.94) <0.00,2.00>
Total: 473504 W: 121250 L: 120228 D: 232026
Ptnml(0-2): 1112, 51137, 131251, 52121, 1131

No functional change

closes https://github.com/official-stockfish/Stockfish/pull/6911

No functional change
---
 AUTHORS          |  1 +
 src/position.cpp | 15 +++++++++++++++
 src/position.h   |  7 +++++--
 src/search.cpp   |  4 ++++
 4 files changed, 25 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
index a7afa9f50..11745df02 100644
--- a/AUTHORS
+++ b/AUTHORS
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ Clemens L. (rn5f107s2)
 Cody Ho (aesrentai)
 CSTENTOR
 Dale Weiler (graphitemaster)
+Dalton Hanaway (dhanaway)
 Daniel Axtens (daxtens)
 Daniel Dugovic (ddugovic)
 Daniel Monroe (daniel-monroe)
diff --git a/src/position.cpp b/src/position.cpp
index d13f8472e..d14385b13 100644
--- a/src/position.cpp
+++ b/src/position.cpp
@@ -1315,6 +1315,21 @@ void Position::update_piece_threats(Piece               pc,
 #endif
 }
 
+Key Position::prefetch_key(Move m) const {
+    Square from     = m.from_sq();
+    Square to       = m.to_sq();
+    Piece  pc       = piece_on(from);
+    Piece  captured = piece_on(to);
+    Key    k        = st->key ^ Zobrist::side;
+
+    k ^= Zobrist::psq[captured][to] ^ Zobrist::psq[pc][to] ^ Zobrist::psq[pc][from];
+
+    if (captured || type_of(pc) == PAWN)
+        return k;
+
+    return adjust_key50<true>(k);
+}
+
 // Helper used to do/undo a castling move. This is a bit
 // tricky in Chess960 where from/to squares can overlap.
 template<bool Do>
diff --git a/src/position.h b/src/position.h
index 25b29e8b9..27becfed0 100644
--- a/src/position.h
+++ b/src/position.h
@@ -160,6 +160,7 @@ class Position {
 
     // Accessing hash keys
     Key key() const;
+    Key prefetch_key(Move m) const;
     Key material_key() const;
     Key pawn_key() const;
     Key minor_piece_key() const;
@@ -211,7 +212,8 @@ class Position {
                      Square&             rto,
                      DirtyThreats* const dts = nullptr,
                      DirtyPiece* const   dp  = nullptr);
-    Key  adjust_key50(Key k) const;
+    template<bool AfterMove = false>
+    Key adjust_key50(Key k) const;
 
     // Data members
     std::array<Piece, SQUARE_NB>        board;
@@ -317,8 +319,9 @@ inline Bitboard Position::check_squares(PieceType pt) const { return st->checkSq
 
 inline Key Position::key() const { return adjust_key50(st->key); }
 
+template<bool AfterMove>
 inline Key Position::adjust_key50(Key k) const {
-    return st->rule50 < 14 ? k : k ^ make_key((st->rule50 - 14) / 8);
+    return st->rule50 < 14 - AfterMove ? k : k ^ make_key((st->rule50 - (14 - AfterMove)) / 8);
 }
 
 inline Key Position::pawn_key() const { return st->pawnKey; }
diff --git a/src/search.cpp b/src/search.cpp
index 8e8cbcbc4..9386bfb35 100644
--- a/src/search.cpp
+++ b/src/search.cpp
@@ -634,6 +634,10 @@ void Search::Worker::do_move(Position& pos, const Move move, StateInfo& st, Stac
 
 void Search::Worker::do_move(
   Position& pos, const Move move, StateInfo& st, const bool givesCheck, Stack* const ss) {
+    // prefetch_key does not model castling, en passant or promotion keys
+    // exactly; for rare moves the prefetch lands on an unused line.
+    prefetch(tt.first_entry(pos.prefetch_key(move)));
+
     bool capture = pos.capture_stage(move);
     ++nodes;