In a playoff match between two of the very highest rated players in the League, a big victory by the US Champion helped send his team into the Semifinals.
Wildcard #4: GM Anton Kovalyov (RIO) vs GM Gata Kamsky (NY) 0-1
And yet another game which barely lost out on GOTW during its time, in the only decision of the year which required the use of a tiebreaker judge due to the two games having absolutely identical marks otherwise. Considering that, the fact that Kamsky beat such a strong player with Black with seeming ease and nice play, and that this was a playoff match with this game being critical to the result, it seemed like a very worthy addition to the GOTY Contest.