Answers.Body: <p>Depth counter shows the latest status of the algorithm in the search tree. Depth 10 means the algorithm checked all moves in 10 node distance. Each node is a position (each half move changes the position, so depth of 10 translates to 5 moves). </p>
  
  <p>As you wait longer and longer it will get deeper thus will provide better evaluation. </p>
  
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Answers.Text: Dear downvoter, I would like to hear your reasoning.
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
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Answers.Text: People have freedom to upvote and downvote whatever they want, don't be rude. Anyway your answer is wrong. If that were the case it'd take years to reach a reasonable depth.
Answers.UserDisplayName: David
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Answers.Text: There is nothing rude or wrong here.
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
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Answers.Text: @ferit You were not being rude. I downvoted because it is incorrect. Modern engines use selectivity (https://www.chessprogramming.org/Selectivity) extensively, and will only search a fraction of the nodes a distance 10 from the root (and a few lines much further).
Answers.UserDisplayName: Noah Caplinger
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Answers.Text: No, its not. I never said that engines brute force all possible moves. Checking implies discarding where the algorithm sees fit.
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
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Answers.Text: And it's absolutely wrong that engines search only first 10 node depth. Any engine will try to go as deep as possible, as hardware permits. That's why people run engines with super computers so they can reach depths which are not possible with a personal computer.
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
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Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
Answers.Body: <p>Wrong answer: &quot;Depth 10 means the algorithm checked all moves in 10 node distance.&quot;</p>
  <p>Right answer: &quot;It doesn't mean it looked at all the moves possible to that extent thought, it trims what it analises, otherwise it would be unable to reach such depths, this means a mate in 10 for example may only be found when stockfish searches in greater depths.&quot;</p>
  <p>Stockfish isn't a pure brute force engine. It uses alpha-beta pruning.</p>
  
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Answers.Text: Depth 10 however, will eventually check all moves at depth 10. It simply uses heuristics to check the moves that are most likely to be good first, but if you let it run forever it will eventually exhaust all moves to depth 10. Stockfish *is* a brute force algorithm, but it's a hill climbing algorithm that will give you good answers quickly before refining them to be better
Answers.UserDisplayName: Cruncher
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Answers.Text: Additionally, alpha-beta pruning is a poor description of what stockfish does. Alpha-beta pruning keeps the search exhaustive, it just is able to prove that some trees are no better than other trees. But this wouldn't explain why stockfish produces better results as you let it run longer
Answers.UserDisplayName: Cruncher
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Answers.Text: @Cruncher is is perhaps a semantic difference, but Stockfish will never check all depth 10 nodes *at depth 10*. If you let it run forever, it will eventually search all the depth 10 nodes required by alpha/beta pruning, but this will happen much further down the line---engine depth 40 or something.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Noah Caplinger
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Tore Winter
Answers.Body: <p>It means how many half moves ahead stockfish looked from the current position. It doesn't mean it looked at all the moves possible to that extent thought, it trims what it analises, otherwise it would be unable to reach such depths, this means a mate in 10 for example may only be found when stockfish searches in greater depths. In general, greater depths mean better analysis and moves suggested by stockfish. The only limiting factor is time and processing power.</p>
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Ivan Lerner
Body: <p>I have started analyzing my games in Lichess. I'm wondering what does <code>Depth</code> mean in the Stockfish analysis? </p>
  
Tags: <stockfish><lichess><depth>
Title: What is 'Depth' in Lichess game analysis?
ThreadText: # What is 'Depth' in Lichess game analysis?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2018-12-29)
  
  I have started analyzing my games in Lichess. I'm wondering what does `Depth` mean in the Stockfish analysis?
  
  **Tags:** stockfish, lichess, depth
  
  
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  ## 3 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_6 on 2018-12-29. Score: 10 | Accepted answer
  
  It means how many half moves ahead stockfish looked from the current position. It doesn't mean it looked at all the moves possible to that extent thought, it trims what it analises, otherwise it would be unable to reach such depths, this means a mate in 10 for example may only be found when stockfish searches in greater depths. In general, greater depths mean better analysis and moves suggested by stockfish. The only limiting factor is time and processing power.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2018-12-31. Score: 1
  
  Depth counter shows the latest status of the algorithm in the search tree. Depth 10 means the algorithm checked all moves in 10 node distance. Each node is a position (each half move changes the position, so depth of 10 translates to 5 moves).
  
  As you wait longer and longer it will get deeper thus will provide better evaluation.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Dear downvoter, I would like to hear your reasoning.  
  > **username_2**: People have freedom to upvote and downvote whatever they want, don't be rude. Anyway your answer is wrong. If that were the case it'd take years to reach a reasonable depth.  
  > **username_1**: There is nothing rude or wrong here.  
  > **username_3**: @username_1 You were not being rude. I downvoted because it is incorrect. Modern engines use selectivity (https://www.chessprogramming.org/Selectivity) extensively, and will only search a fraction of the nodes a distance 10 from the root (and a few lines much further).  
  > **username_1**: No, its not. I never said that engines brute force all possible moves. Checking implies discarding where the algorithm sees fit.  
  > **username_1**: And it's absolutely wrong that engines search only first 10 node depth. Any engine will try to go as deep as possible, as hardware permits. That's why people run engines with super computers so they can reach depths which are not possible with a personal computer.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2021-01-13. Score: 0
  
  Wrong answer: "Depth 10 means the algorithm checked all moves in 10 node distance."
  
  Right answer: "It doesn't mean it looked at all the moves possible to that extent thought, it trims what it analises, otherwise it would be unable to reach such depths, this means a mate in 10 for example may only be found when stockfish searches in greater depths."
  
  Stockfish isn't a pure brute force engine. It uses alpha-beta pruning.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_5**: Depth 10 however, will eventually check all moves at depth 10. It simply uses heuristics to check the moves that are most likely to be good first, but if you let it run forever it will eventually exhaust all moves to depth 10. Stockfish *is* a brute force algorithm, but it's a hill climbing algorithm that will give you good answers quickly before refining them to be better  
  > **username_5**: Additionally, alpha-beta pruning is a poor description of what stockfish does. Alpha-beta pruning keeps the search exhaustive, it just is able to prove that some trees are no better than other trees. But this wouldn't explain why stockfish produces better results as you let it run longer  
  > **username_3**: @username_5 is is perhaps a semantic difference, but Stockfish will never check all depth 10 nodes *at depth 10*. If you let it run forever, it will eventually search all the depth 10 nodes required by alpha/beta pruning, but this will happen much further down the line---engine depth 40 or something.  
  
  ---
  
  