diff --git a/packages/ragmir-core/src/query.test.ts b/packages/ragmir-core/src/query.test.ts
index bd2927c..96c41a3 100644
--- a/packages/ragmir-core/src/query.test.ts
+++ b/packages/ragmir-core/src/query.test.ts
@@ -408,6 +408,53 @@ describe("search", () => {
     expect(results[0]?.relativePath).toBe(".ragmir/raw/zeta.md")
   })
 
+  it("should anchor compound identifiers before broad lexical backfill", async () => {
+    const root = await mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "ragmir-query-identifier-anchor-"))
+    tempDirs.push(root)
+    await initProject(root)
+    await mkdir(path.join(root, ".ragmir", "raw"), { recursive: true })
+    await writeFile(
+      path.join(root, ".ragmir", "config.json"),
+      JSON.stringify({ retrievalProfile: "fast", topK: 2 }),
+    )
+    await Promise.all([
+      ...Array.from({ length: 8 }, (_entry, index) =>
+        writeFile(
+          path.join(root, ".ragmir", "raw", `target-${String(index).padStart(3, "0")}.md`),
+          `Find evidence for compound identifier BENCH-IDENTIFIER-14 target ${index}.\n`,
+        ),
+      ),
+      ...Array.from({ length: 12 }, (_entry, index) =>
+        writeFile(
+          path.join(root, ".ragmir", "raw", `distractor-${String(index).padStart(3, "0")}.md`),
+          `Find broad evidence for an unrelated routine ${index}.\n`,
+        ),
+      ),
+    ])
+    await ingest({ cwd: root })
+
+    const exact = await search("Find evidence for BENCH-IDENTIFIER-14", {
+      cwd: root,
+      topK: 2,
+      explain: true,
+    })
+    const fuzzy = await search("Find evidence for BENCH-IDENTIFIXR-14", {
+      cwd: root,
+      topK: 1,
+      explain: true,
+    })
+
+    expect(exact).toHaveLength(2)
+    expect(exact.every((result) => result.text.includes("BENCH-IDENTIFIER-14"))).toBe(true)
+    expect(exact[0]?.score).toMatchObject({
+      lexicalBackend: "fts",
+      lexicalCandidatesMaterialized: 8,
+      lexicalQueryVariants: 1,
+    })
+    expect(fuzzy[0]?.text).toContain("BENCH-IDENTIFIER-14")
+    expect(fuzzy[0]?.score?.lexicalQueryVariants).toBeGreaterThan(1)
+  }, 15_000)
+
   it("should scan a complete lexical fallback in bounded batches", async () => {
     const root = await mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "ragmir-query-truncated-fallback-"))
     tempDirs.push(root)
@@ -445,7 +492,7 @@ describe("search", () => {
       "Routine evidence without query terms.\n",
     )
     await Promise.all(
-      Array.from({ length: 120 }, (_entry, index) =>
+      Array.from({ length: 90 }, (_entry, index) =>
         writeFile(
           path.join(root, ".ragmir", "raw", `distractor-${String(index).padStart(3, "0")}.md`),
           `Ragmir raw policy md distractor evidence ${index}.\n`,
@@ -467,7 +514,7 @@ describe("search", () => {
       lexicalBackend: "fallback",
       lexicalExactPathMatch: true,
     })
-    expect(vectorCandidateLimit(1)).toBeLessThan(120)
+    expect(vectorCandidateLimit(1)).toBeLessThan(90)
   }, 10_000)
 
   it("should explain complete lexical fallback activation and coverage", async () => {
diff --git a/packages/ragmir-core/src/query.ts b/packages/ragmir-core/src/query.ts
index 4493381..6a92c31 100644
--- a/packages/ragmir-core/src/query.ts
+++ b/packages/ragmir-core/src/query.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 import { channel } from "node:diagnostics_channel"
 import {
+  BooleanQuery,
   type Connection,
   type FullTextQuery,
   MatchQuery,
+  Occur,
   Operator,
   PhraseQuery,
 } from "@lancedb/lancedb"
@@ -977,20 +979,47 @@ function lexicalQuery(
     return null
   }
   const joined = tokens.join(" ")
+  const broadQuery = new MatchQuery(joined, "searchText", { operator: Operator.Or })
   const supplemental: FullTextQuery[] = []
-  if (tokens.length > 1) {
-    supplemental.push(new PhraseQuery(joined, "searchText"))
-  }
   const identifierTerms = [...query.matchAll(LEXICAL_IDENTIFIER_PATTERN)]
     .map((match) => match[0])
     .filter(Boolean)
-  for (const identifier of [...new Set(identifierTerms)]) {
-    supplemental.push(
-      new MatchQuery(identifier, "searchText", {
-        boost: 2,
-        ...(isFuzzyLexicalTerm(identifier) ? { fuzziness: 1, prefixLength: 3 } : {}),
-      }),
+  const identifiers = [...new Set(identifierTerms)]
+  const firstIdentifier = identifiers[0]
+  if (firstIdentifier !== undefined) {
+    const firstExactIdentifierQuery = new PhraseQuery(firstIdentifier, "searchText")
+    const exactIdentifierQueries = [
+      firstExactIdentifierQuery,
+      ...identifiers.slice(1).map((identifier) => new PhraseQuery(identifier, "searchText")),
+    ]
+    const exactIdentifierQuery: FullTextQuery =
+      exactIdentifierQueries.length === 1
+        ? firstExactIdentifierQuery
+        : new BooleanQuery(
+            exactIdentifierQueries.map((item): [Occur, FullTextQuery] => [Occur.Should, item]),
+          )
+    const fuzzyIdentifierQuery = new BooleanQuery(
+      identifiers.map((identifier): [Occur, FullTextQuery] => [
+        Occur.Should,
+        new MatchQuery(identifier, "searchText", {
+          boost: 2,
+          fuzziness: 1,
+          operator: Operator.And,
+          prefixLength: 3,
+        }),
+      ]),
     )
+    supplemental.push(fuzzyIdentifierQuery, broadQuery)
+    return {
+      primary: new BooleanQuery([
+        [Occur.Must, exactIdentifierQuery],
+        [Occur.Should, broadQuery],
+      ]),
+      supplemental,
+    }
+  }
+  if (tokens.length > 1) {
+    supplemental.push(new PhraseQuery(joined, "searchText"))
   }
   const rareTerms = tokens
     .filter(isFuzzyLexicalTerm)
@@ -1006,7 +1035,7 @@ function lexicalQuery(
     )
   }
   return {
-    primary: new MatchQuery(joined, "searchText", { operator: Operator.Or }),
+    primary: broadQuery,
     supplemental,
   }
 }