diff --git a/src/search.cpp b/src/search.cpp
index b2983f66..d2358ea2 100644
--- a/src/search.cpp
+++ b/src/search.cpp
@@ -607,14 +607,7 @@ namespace {
     (ss+2)->cutoffCnt    = 0;
     ss->doubleExtensions = (ss-1)->doubleExtensions;
     Square prevSq        = is_ok((ss-1)->currentMove) ? to_sq((ss-1)->currentMove) : SQ_NONE;
-
-    // Initialize statScore to zero for the grandchildren of the current position.
-    // So statScore is shared between all grandchildren and only the first grandchild
-    // starts with statScore = 0. Later grandchildren start with the last calculated
-    // statScore of the previous grandchild. This influences the reduction rules in
-    // LMR which are based on the statScore of parent position.
-    if (!rootNode)
-        (ss+2)->statScore = 0;
+    ss->statScore        = 0;
 
     // Step 4. Transposition table lookup.
     excludedMove = ss->excludedMove;