Move ordering and reductions in the endgame

[rdhoffmann]

I'm looking to improve the endgame of my chess engine. Currently, in the endgame, my engine only benefits from the transposition table and some futility pruning. Typically this results in less than 20 ply depth in the endgame which is not much.

Are there any widely known techniques to improve endgame move ordering, or reduce moves in the endgame? The typical endgame situation I'm looking to improve is one rook on each side plus a couple of pawns, additionally perhaps a minor piece each.

[Mike Sherwin]

There is no one size fits all answer. I am also not aware of any engine that varies its move ordering based on game phase. Though that is an interesting thought.