In a regular chess game there is no conditional moves , why is this started here ? I understand that  it can speed up the game , special  the endgame can drag on for a while ,but what's the hurry ?

If the next turn requires a forced reply to avoid check or escape check, I say "Why not use conditional moves?"

If there is obviously one best reply for a given move, I use conditional to eliminate my having to log on to make my next "turn chess" move and move the game along. While there is no pressure for anyone to use conditional moves, I like it to move the game along instead of having to wait for that "forced" (or only reasonable) reply.

Plus, the opponent only knows about it if they reply with the exact move your conditional move set.

i guess the question might also be "why not?" :)

lol yea, and back in the old day they didn't have cars, but they do now. I mean they're very helpful in our daily lives, and save us a lot of time, but whats the hurry?

Those darn cars!

Conditional moves have been available for correspondence style chess for quite a while.  They are not something unique to this site.  I love using them when possible.

They're definitely useful.  They can save you having to waste vacation time on a forced win if someone is dragging out a game for longer than you expected and you have to go away.  Although an 'any' option would be useful for forced mates, and I was lucky not to lose a game when I had to use the conditional moves.  As it was I had to program the same line for every single variation, and because I couldn't do them all, choose the lines I thought my opponent would play.  If you dont have any vacation time conditionals can prevent your opponent gaining from stalling. 

I prefer to make the moves myself though.  I mean you've worked long and hard for that checkmate, why let the computer play it for you!  You've done all the hard work, and then you give the fun moves to the computer! 

It has a long tradition in correspondence chess, which is basically what turned based chess on a chess server is.

Are you serious? It's still you making the moves. You're just entering them ahead of time.

Originally, chess games were not conducted over the internet.  Why does this site feel the need to offer such an "innovation"?

</sarcasm>

This was already mentioned but conditional moves have a long history in correspondence chess so they're perfectly appropriate.

Conditional moves also carry some psychological weight which allows them to be used as a weapon of sorts.  Anyone who has ever been tempted to make a move based strictly on the liklihood that it will break a long string of conditional moves will know exactly what I'm talking about!  It's a way of saying to your opponent "I know what you're thinking.  Your tactical shot wasn't a surprise.  I saw it coming".

Hmmmm, maybe I should try this....conditional moves... to show them "I see you coming"..."bring it on"..."I am more than prepared".... I like this psychological warfare thinking.

haha yeah I'm serious.  I like to be there at the critical moment and make the move then, not just key it in in advance.  I want to see it happen, not just get an email telling me about it. 

Don't you get to see it happen when you enter the conditional move? You could set it up on a board at home, and repeatedly play the move while deviously laughing like an evil genius as your plan unfolds. :)

If you like the taste of blood, conditional moves may not be for you!

For all others, I can say for me conditional moves (one-liner for us freeones) saved me a tremendous amount of time in online chess. Also if you are setting a trap, conditional move has the psychological advantage of hurrying your opponent, or making him/her make a hasty move. It also has a subtle side which I have lately noticed - it infuriates some players and make them leave the trodden path to give offbeat moves - to your advantage!

In a simultaneous exhibition versus a master/IM/GM, it is traditional for the higher rated exhibitioner to make a move and wait for a reply if it is something obvious such as a queen trade recapture rather than make a tour around the other boards. This is analogous to conditional moves which are often used in postal chess (back in the olden days). Then again, some postal chess veterans suggest NEVER to offer conditional moves. 

'In regular chess' conditional moves are not needed because the player is right there. For correspondance chess or places like these it is simply something to try and make things work more smoothly. Why not? as erik put it :)

Conditional moves exist OTB, when you think about it. When you play against an opponent who, without even thinking (sometimes looking elsewhere) just plays back something; you then know he/she knew what to respond to the move you just made. Well, it's the same thing. You say to yourself "damn, he expected that?", which may either harm (you look harder) or help (you feel helpless).

I think that conditional moves do not alter the game itself... perhaps only the pride :P

I ride my bike everywhere and I must say that live would be safer for me without those darn cars!

Ummm...I don't think anyone is "forcing" you to use Conditional Moves. You could always not use it. Unless you are conditioned to do what others do. Hey, maybe we could have conditional moves for posting! Then someone could reply to my post, if they guessed what I would say. That would be cool too.

Actually, I think it is a great feature here. I have had opponents in a losing position, where I have a forced mate no matter what they do. They don't want to resign (in case I drop dead and never finish the game), but the game is over for me and I can prove it is so using the conditional moves.