Change message from ”insufficient material” to ”no sequence leads to mate”.

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"Insufficient material" is simply a more accurate description of how Lichess determines the outcome.

Some positions are simply more complex or subtle than Lichess is able to quickly determine whether or not a mate is possible. So instead it uses material on the board as a shorthand to determine the outcome. "No sequence leads to mate" would imply that not getting that message means that there IS a sequence that leads to mate, which just isn't true in some rare cases.

To give an extreme example, see this game where mate is never possible from either side:


There's sufficient material, hence Lichess counts it as a victory for black instead of a draw. Even though mate isn't possible, Lichess isn't able to determine that, and so it can't give that message.

Also, check out this thread where people are discussing the difference between Lichess' ability to determine outcomes and the FIDE rules of chess: lichess.org/forum/lichess-feedback/gm-lost-but-it-was-a-draw-moders-look-at-this

A perfect example of a situation where it should have said draw, but because there was "sufficient material" on the board, it did not.

In short: Until Lichess can more accurately determine the outcome of a game, "No sequence leads to mate" won't be a very good outcome message.