diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 52e2af48..eb353217 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,8 +3,10 @@ CHANGELOG
 
 0.74.2
 ------
-- Single-character queries are up to 2.4x faster
-    - This is the most latency-sensitive case; the first keystroke scans the entire list before the result cache can help
+- Performance optimizations for short queries
+    - The most critical case: fzf narrows results as you type, so short queries scan the largest candidate sets and the first keystroke scans the whole input.
+    - Single-character queries are up to 2.4x faster
+    - Two-character queries are up to 1.4x faster
 - Faster sorting of search results; the default two-criteria ranking skips redundant radix passes
 - Fixed nondeterministic match highlight positions
 - fzf now detects terminal resize on Windows in `--height` mode (#4790) (@Cyrus580529)
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index acf65c8f..ab93c7f0 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -97,6 +97,16 @@ test: $(SOURCES)
 itest:
 	ruby test/runner.rb
 
+# Actively fuzz the matcher fast paths against the general algorithm.
+# Go fuzzes one target at a time, so iterate. Override duration with
+# FUZZTIME (e.g. make fuzz FUZZTIME=5m).
+FUZZTIME ?= 30s
+fuzz:
+	@for t in FuzzFuzzyMatchV2Single FuzzFuzzyMatchV2Two; do \
+		echo "== $$t =="; \
+		$(GO) test -run '^$$' -fuzz "^$$t$$" -fuzztime $(FUZZTIME) ./src/algo || exit 1; \
+	done
+
 bench:
 	cd src && SHELL=/bin/sh GOOS= $(GO) test -v -tags "$(TAGS)" -run=Bench -bench=. -benchmem
 
diff --git a/src/algo/algo.go b/src/algo/algo.go
index 983c5e82..d1ceec99 100644
--- a/src/algo/algo.go
+++ b/src/algo/algo.go
@@ -463,6 +463,179 @@ func fuzzyMatchV2Single(caseSensitive bool, forward bool, input *util.Chars, b b
 	return result, &pos
 }
 
+// Test hooks: force the general path instead of a fast path, so the two can
+// be compared for equivalence.
+var (
+	disableSingle bool
+	disableTwo    bool
+)
+
+// fuzzyMatchV2Two is a fused fast path for a two-character ASCII pattern on
+// ASCII input. It replicates Phase 2 (row 0) and Phase 3 (row 1) of
+// FuzzyMatchV2 in a single pass, carrying the row-0 diagonal/left values and
+// the row-1 left value as scalars instead of materializing score arrays.
+// When withPos is set, the two DP rows are stored so the backtrace can
+// recover the matched character positions, exactly as the general Phase 4.
+func fuzzyMatchV2Two(caseSensitive bool, forward bool, input *util.Chars, pchar0 byte, pchar1 byte, minIdx int, maxIdx int, withPos bool, slab *util.Slab) (Result, *[]int) {
+	sl := input.Bytes()
+	N := maxIdx - minIdx
+
+	// Row storage, only needed for the backtrace
+	var H0, C0, H1, C1 []int16
+	if withPos {
+		o := 0
+		o, H0 = alloc16(o, slab, N)
+		o, C0 = alloc16(o, slab, N)
+		o, H1 = alloc16(o, slab, N)
+		_, C1 = alloc16(o, slab, N)
+	}
+
+	maxScore, maxScorePos := int16(0), 0
+	prevClass := initialCharClass
+
+	// Subsequence tracking (equivalent to F[0], F[1] in Phase 2). The scope
+	// from asciiFuzzyIndex ends exactly at the last pchar1, so row 1's upper
+	// bound (Phase 3 lastIdx) is the final loop position; no separate var.
+	f0, f1 := -1, -1
+
+	// Row 0 running state at the previous position
+	var h0Prev, c0Prev, bPrev int16
+	inGap0 := false
+
+	// Row 1 running state
+	var h1Prev int16
+	inGap1 := false
+
+	for off := range N {
+		pos := minIdx + off
+		b := sl[pos]
+		class := asciiCharClasses[b]
+		lb := b
+		if !caseSensitive && b >= 'A' && b <= 'Z' {
+			lb = b + 32
+		}
+		bonus := bonusMatrix[prevClass][class]
+		prevClass = class
+
+		// Subsequence advance: pchar0 then pchar1
+		if f0 < 0 {
+			if lb == pchar0 {
+				f0 = off
+			}
+		} else if lb == pchar1 && f1 < 0 {
+			f1 = off
+		}
+
+		// Row 0 (pchar0)
+		var h0Cur, c0Cur int16
+		if lb == pchar0 {
+			h0Cur = scoreMatch + bonus*bonusFirstCharMultiplier
+			c0Cur = 1
+			inGap0 = false
+		} else {
+			if inGap0 {
+				h0Cur = max(h0Prev+scoreGapExtension, 0)
+			} else {
+				h0Cur = max(h0Prev+scoreGapStart, 0)
+			}
+			c0Cur = 0
+			inGap0 = true
+		}
+		if withPos {
+			H0[off], C0[off] = h0Cur, c0Cur
+		}
+
+		// Row 1 (pchar1), only within [f1, lastIdx]
+		if f1 >= 0 && off >= f1 {
+			var s1, s2, consecutive int16
+			hleft := h1Prev
+			if off == f1 {
+				hleft = 0
+			}
+			if inGap1 {
+				s2 = hleft + scoreGapExtension
+			} else {
+				s2 = hleft + scoreGapStart
+			}
+			if lb == pchar1 {
+				s1 = h0Prev + scoreMatch
+				bb := bonus
+				consecutive = c0Prev + 1
+				if consecutive > 1 {
+					fb := bPrev
+					if bb >= bonusBoundary && bb > fb {
+						consecutive = 1
+					} else {
+						bb = max(bb, bonusConsecutive, fb)
+					}
+				}
+				if s1+bb < s2 {
+					s1 += bonus
+					consecutive = 0
+				} else {
+					s1 += bb
+				}
+			}
+			inGap1 = s1 < s2
+			score := max(s1, s2, 0)
+			if forward && score > maxScore || !forward && score >= maxScore {
+				maxScore, maxScorePos = score, off
+			}
+			h1Prev = score
+			if withPos {
+				H1[off], C1[off] = score, consecutive
+			}
+		}
+
+		h0Prev, c0Prev, bPrev = h0Cur, c0Cur, bonus
+	}
+
+	if f1 < 0 {
+		return Result{-1, -1, 0}, nil
+	}
+	if !withPos {
+		return Result{minIdx + f0, minIdx + maxScorePos + 1, int(maxScore)}, nil
+	}
+
+	// Phase 4 backtrace, specialized to two rows. Mirrors the general loop:
+	// record a cell when it dominates its diagonal and left neighbors, then
+	// step up a row; otherwise step left. preferMatch breaks score ties and
+	// must not read row 1 left of f1 (unwritten, possibly stale slab data).
+	pos := posArray(true, 2)
+	i := 1
+	j := maxScorePos
+	preferMatch := true
+	for {
+		var s, s1, s2, cCur int16
+		if i == 1 {
+			s, cCur = H1[j], C1[j]
+			if j >= f1 {
+				s1 = H0[j-1]
+			}
+			if j > f1 {
+				s2 = H1[j-1]
+			}
+		} else {
+			s, cCur = H0[j], C0[j]
+			if j > f0 {
+				s2 = H0[j-1]
+			}
+		}
+		row := i
+		if s > s1 && (s > s2 || s == s2 && preferMatch) {
+			*pos = append(*pos, j+minIdx)
+			if i == 0 {
+				break
+			}
+			i--
+		}
+		preferMatch = cCur > 1 ||
+			row == 0 && j < N-1 && j+1 >= f1 && C1[j+1] > 0
+		j--
+	}
+	return Result{minIdx + j, minIdx + maxScorePos + 1, int(maxScore)}, pos
+}
+
 func FuzzyMatchV2(caseSensitive bool, normalize bool, forward bool, input *util.Chars, pattern []rune, withPos bool, slab *util.Slab) (Result, *[]int) {
 	// Assume that pattern is given in lowercase if case-insensitive.
 	// First check if there's a match and calculate bonus for each position.
@@ -487,7 +660,7 @@ func FuzzyMatchV2(caseSensitive bool, normalize bool, forward bool, input *util.
 
 	// Single-character ASCII pattern needs neither the prefilter nor the
 	// score matrix
-	if M == 1 && input.IsBytes() && pattern[0] < utf8.RuneSelf {
+	if !disableSingle && M == 1 && input.IsBytes() && pattern[0] < utf8.RuneSelf {
 		return fuzzyMatchV2Single(caseSensitive, forward, input, byte(pattern[0]), withPos)
 	}
 
@@ -499,6 +672,13 @@ func FuzzyMatchV2(caseSensitive bool, normalize bool, forward bool, input *util.
 	// fmt.Println(N, maxIdx, idx, maxIdx-idx, input.ToString())
 	N = maxIdx - minIdx
 
+	// Two-character ASCII pattern: rows 0 and 1 collapse to scalar running
+	// state, so the general score arrays are unnecessary
+	if !disableTwo && M == 2 && input.IsBytes() &&
+		pattern[0] < utf8.RuneSelf && pattern[1] < utf8.RuneSelf {
+		return fuzzyMatchV2Two(caseSensitive, forward, input, byte(pattern[0]), byte(pattern[1]), minIdx, maxIdx, withPos, slab)
+	}
+
 	// Reuse pre-allocated integer slice to avoid unnecessary sweeping of garbages
 	offset16 := 0
 	offset32 := 0
diff --git a/src/algo/algo_test.go b/src/algo/algo_test.go
index 45578521..caae23fd 100644
--- a/src/algo/algo_test.go
+++ b/src/algo/algo_test.go
@@ -241,3 +241,75 @@ func TestResultPositionsWithReusedSlab(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// TestFuzzyMatchV2TwoEquivalence verifies that the two-character fast path
+// produces the same Result and positions as the general algorithm across
+// case sensitivity, direction, and withPos, using a reused slab to surface
+// any stale-data reads in the backtrace.
+func TestFuzzyMatchV2TwoEquivalence(t *testing.T) {
+	words := []string{"src", "main", "core", "config", "parser", "render", "server",
+		"client", "index", "handler", "util", "list", "cache", "reader"}
+	exts := []string{".go", ".rb", ".py", ".md", ".c", ".txt"}
+	// Deterministic corpus (LCG), plus adversarial short/repeated items
+	corpus := []util.Chars{}
+	seed := uint32(12345)
+	next := func(n int) int { seed = seed*1664525 + 1013904223; return int(seed>>8) % n }
+	for i := 0; i < 4000; i++ {
+		depth := 2 + next(4)
+		s := ""
+		for d := 0; d < depth; d++ {
+			if d > 0 {
+				s += "/"
+			}
+			s += words[next(len(words))]
+			if next(5) == 0 {
+				s += "_" + words[next(len(words))]
+			}
+		}
+		s += exts[next(len(exts))]
+		corpus = append(corpus, util.ToChars([]byte(s)))
+	}
+	for _, s := range []string{"", "a", "ab", "aa", "aXb", "a/b", "//", "..", "abcabc",
+		"AaBb", "x.y.z", "a_b_c", "CoreCore", "  co"} {
+		corpus = append(corpus, util.ToChars([]byte(s)))
+	}
+
+	pats := []string{"co", "ab", "aa", "//", "..", "sr", "a/", "_c", "oo", "Ab",
+		"z.", "b.", "1a", "ll", "re", "er", "Co"}
+	slab := util.MakeSlab(100*1024, 2048)
+	for _, cs := range []bool{false, true} {
+		for _, fwd := range []bool{true, false} {
+			for _, wp := range []bool{false, true} {
+				for _, p := range pats {
+					pattern := []rune(p)
+					for j := range corpus {
+						disableTwo = true
+						rg, pg := FuzzyMatchV2(cs, false, fwd, &corpus[j], pattern, wp, slab)
+						disableTwo = false
+						rt, pt := FuzzyMatchV2(cs, false, fwd, &corpus[j], pattern, wp, slab)
+						if rg != rt {
+							t.Fatalf("Result cs=%v fwd=%v wp=%v pat=%q item=%q: general %v vs two %v",
+								cs, fwd, wp, p, corpus[j].ToString(), rg, rt)
+						}
+						if (pg == nil) != (pt == nil) || (pg != nil && !equalInts(*pg, *pt)) {
+							t.Fatalf("Pos cs=%v fwd=%v wp=%v pat=%q item=%q: general %v vs two %v",
+								cs, fwd, wp, p, corpus[j].ToString(), pg, pt)
+						}
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func equalInts(a, b []int) bool {
+	if len(a) != len(b) {
+		return false
+	}
+	for i := range a {
+		if a[i] != b[i] {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/src/algo/fastpath_equiv_test.go b/src/algo/fastpath_equiv_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e4ede5c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/algo/fastpath_equiv_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+package algo
+
+// Equivalence tests for the single- and two-character fast paths against the
+// general FuzzyMatchV2 algorithm, which serves as the oracle.
+//
+// Two complementary strategies:
+//   - Exhaustive: every string up to a fixed length over an alphabet that
+//     covers all ASCII character classes, so every local scoring branch is
+//     exercised (not merely sampled).
+//   - Fuzz: coverage-guided, arbitrary length, to reach cases the bounded
+//     exhaustive sweep cannot (e.g. long gaps where a high score decays).
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/junegunn/fzf/src/util"
+)
+
+// One char of each ASCII class that affects scoring: lower, upper, delimiter,
+// number, non-word, whitespace.
+var equivAlphabet = []byte{'a', 'B', '/', '1', '_', ' '}
+
+func samePos(a, b *[]int) bool {
+	if (a == nil) != (b == nil) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if a == nil {
+		return true
+	}
+	return equalInts(*a, *b)
+}
+
+// compareFastPath runs a single input/pattern/params pair through both the
+// fast path and the general algorithm and fails on any difference.
+func compareFastPath(t *testing.T, chars *util.Chars, pattern []rune, cs, fwd, wp bool, disable *bool, slab *util.Slab) {
+	t.Helper()
+	*disable = true
+	rg, pg := FuzzyMatchV2(cs, false, fwd, chars, pattern, wp, slab)
+	*disable = false
+	rt, pt := FuzzyMatchV2(cs, false, fwd, chars, pattern, wp, slab)
+	if rg != rt || !samePos(pg, pt) {
+		t.Fatalf("mismatch item=%q pat=%q cs=%v fwd=%v wp=%v: general %v %v vs fast %v %v",
+			chars.ToString(), string(pattern), cs, fwd, wp, rg, pg, rt, pt)
+	}
+}
+
+// lowerPattern lowercases the pattern for case-insensitive search, matching
+// the Algo contract (the pattern is pre-lowercased by BuildPattern).
+func lowerPattern(p []rune, cs bool) []rune {
+	if cs {
+		return p
+	}
+	out := make([]rune, len(p))
+	for i, c := range p {
+		if c >= 'A' && c <= 'Z' {
+			c += 32
+		}
+		out[i] = c
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+func runExhaustive(t *testing.T, patLen, maxLen int, disable *bool) {
+	// All patterns of length patLen over the alphabet
+	var pats [][]rune
+	var genPat func(cur []rune)
+	genPat = func(cur []rune) {
+		if len(cur) == patLen {
+			pats = append(pats, append([]rune(nil), cur...))
+			return
+		}
+		for _, c := range equivAlphabet {
+			genPat(append(cur, rune(c)))
+		}
+	}
+	genPat(nil)
+
+	slab := util.MakeSlab(100*1024, 2048)
+	buf := make([]byte, 0, maxLen)
+	var rec func(depth int)
+	rec = func(depth int) {
+		chars := util.ToChars(append([]byte(nil), buf...))
+		for _, cs := range []bool{false, true} {
+			for _, fwd := range []bool{true, false} {
+				for _, wp := range []bool{false, true} {
+					for _, p := range pats {
+						compareFastPath(t, &chars, lowerPattern(p, cs), cs, fwd, wp, disable, slab)
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		if depth == maxLen {
+			return
+		}
+		for _, c := range equivAlphabet {
+			buf = append(buf, c)
+			rec(depth + 1)
+			buf = buf[:len(buf)-1]
+		}
+	}
+	rec(0)
+}
+
+func TestFuzzyMatchV2SingleExhaustive(t *testing.T) {
+	runExhaustive(t, 1, 6, &disableSingle)
+}
+
+func TestFuzzyMatchV2TwoExhaustive(t *testing.T) {
+	runExhaustive(t, 2, 6, &disableTwo)
+}
+
+func fuzzFastPath(f *testing.F, patLen int, disable *bool) {
+	f.Add("core_color/view/server.txt", "co")
+	f.Add("a                        b", "ab")
+	f.Add("XyZ/123_abc.def", "z1")
+	f.Add("aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa", "aa")
+	slab := util.MakeSlab(200*1024, 4096)
+	f.Fuzz(func(t *testing.T, input, pat string) {
+		r := []rune(pat)
+		if len(r) != patLen {
+			return
+		}
+		for _, c := range r {
+			if c >= 128 {
+				return
+			}
+		}
+		chars := util.ToChars([]byte(input))
+		if !chars.IsBytes() {
+			return
+		}
+		for _, cs := range []bool{false, true} {
+			for _, fwd := range []bool{true, false} {
+				for _, wp := range []bool{false, true} {
+					compareFastPath(t, &chars, lowerPattern(r, cs), cs, fwd, wp, disable, slab)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	})
+}
+
+func FuzzFuzzyMatchV2Single(f *testing.F) { fuzzFastPath(f, 1, &disableSingle) }
+func FuzzFuzzyMatchV2Two(f *testing.F)    { fuzzFastPath(f, 2, &disableTwo) }