Conditional Moves - Time Delay

I propose that a time delay feature be added to the conditional moves feature.

In addition to queuing the conditional move, a player could set the number of minutes delay in which the move will be played after the trigger condition has been met.

This feature would be helpful in fast paced games such as 0/21 (0 day timeout 21 day time bank). In such games the time element is crucial and it is often best to move only after one believes his/her opponent has logged off RedHotPawn for the day. Such a strategy drains the opponent's time bank.

If you want you can stay up and move.
In my opinion a bad idea. w/ the delay thing

I actually liked the idea when I first read it. That way, a sudden realization later, say after an hour or so, would give us a chance to go back and fix it.

However, when I read that the reason is to be a sneaky time maneuver, then I'm against it.

Originally posted by Phillidor284
I propose that a time delay feature be added to the conditional moves feature.
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This feature would be helpful in fast paced games such as 0/21 (0 day timeout 21 day time bank). In such games the time element is crucial and it is often best to move only after one believes his/her opponent has logged off RedHotPawn for the day. Such a strategy drains the opponent's time bank.

I think it unethical to try to go for a timeout as winning strategy.

But the tool would of course work in both directions. So even if you would set your timebomb, it's possible for your opponent to do the same. The punishment would be for the unaware, which is VERY unethical.

Originally posted by Ponderable
I think it unethical to try to go for a timeout as winning strategy.

But the tool would of course work in both directions. So even if you would set your timebomb, it's possible for your opponent to do the same. The punishment would be for the unaware, which is VERY unethical.

What about time zones?
Is it "unethical" for a person on the west coast of the U.S. to move after 9:00pm? After all, when it is 9 in San Francisco it is 12 midnight in New York (past bedtime).
Suppose the New Yorker cannot move until 5:00 pm the next day. Each night the New Yorker's time bank would be drained while the west coaster's time bank would not.
I don't see how ethics relates here anyway.
Both parties must voluntarily agree to the terms of the match. Both parties should know the rules of the game and the possibility of a time delay. If they don't know, there is nothing preventing them from learning the rules.
And the above quote points out that both parties are able to employ this strategy. Unethical would be if one player could while the other couldn't.
This is simply a question of: Economizing on scarce resources - time.
Are you saying that any player who has ever engaged in a "time scramble." is unethical?
No, a time delay feature added to conditional moves is a solution to the problems inherent in players playing from various time zones in different parts of the world.
Rather than creating injustice, it gives the New Yorker from the above example a tool to combat an existing injustice if he so perceives it.
I am sure that there is a systematic pattern/distortion such that west coast players in the U.S. tend to get the last move of the night against east coast players, all other things equal.

Originally posted by Phillidor284
What about time zones?
Is it "unethical" for a person on the west coast of the U.S. to move after 9:00pm? After all, when it is 9 in San Francisco it is 12 midnight in New York (past bedtime).
Suppose the New Yorker cannot move until 5:00 pm the next day. Each night the New Yorker's time bank would be drained while the west coaster's time bank would n ...[text shortened]... d to get the last move of the night against east coast players, all other things equal.

fair point. it's more complicated than it seems at first

In fact your reasoning is a good argument for not joining zero timeout tournaments.
They are designed to accelerate things, but the question is of course if correspondence chess and accelereation go well together.

You are right about the time zone thing, which can give one player an advantage timewise. But I still don't think that delayed conditional moves would be the answer.

So my suggestion would be to abandon the 0/21 format, and make only timeban only tournaments with the chance to end the game by moving once a day say 0/40 or higher.

Originally posted by Phillidor284
I propose that a time delay feature be added to the conditional moves feature.

In addition to queuing the conditional move, a player could set the number of minutes delay in which the move will be played after the trigger condition has been met.

This feature would be helpful in fast paced games such as 0/21 (0 day timeout 21 day time bank). In suc ...[text shortened]... pponent has logged off RedHotPawn for the day. Such a strategy drains the opponent's time bank.

Unless they are insomniacs