In contrast to Board Three, Board Four did not have as many strong candidates for the All Star spots. But who wound up making it? Read on to see!
If you are wondering what criteria was used to determine these All Stars, please refer to the first post on this subject.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
1st Team: NM Nicholas Rosenthal (STL)
This was a very easy decision as Rosenthal was much more active than the other candidates, had a fantastic record, and notched several big wins along the way, including two Playoff victories which were very key to his team’s success.
The St. Louis team’s 2014 Championship was largely due to being so dominant on the top two boards, but this season their return to the Championship Match was certainly not due nearly entirely to their play on the top two boards. While they still performed well there, without Rosenthal’s amazing record, there is no way they would have finished anywhere near as well as they did as he had the best record of anyone on his team.
It should be interesting to see what the future holds for Rosenthal like many others. The Arch Bishops, in part to having so many strong players locally, are not a squad which will be likely to lacking firepower on the top boards, and if Rosenthal returns next year on Board Four, it is hard to imagine them not once again being one of the top teams in the League.
Record: 8.0 / 10 (80%)
Performance Rating: 2380
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
2nd Team: NM Bryce Tiglon (SEA)
This was another fairly easy decision as Seattle’s postseason berth came about largely to their great play on the bottom boards with Tiglon scoring several huge wins during the regular season (along with Feng and Golub delivering on Board Three quite a bit). The Sluggers didn’t quite have the firepower at the top that several other squads had, but that isn’t the only recipe for success as they are far from the first team who has seemingly snuck up on many others with consistent strong play on the bottom boards.
Like his teammate Golub, the top All Star on the same board from last year, it will definitely be interesting to see if Tiglon can continue his great pace in 2016. It is rarely easy for players to maintain such consistently strong results when making the jump from Board Four to Three, facing players who are often a hundred to two hundred points stronger than they did prior. But Golub as well as Levy Rozman from Manhattan have shown that it is entirely possible to do so, and if Seattle’s playoff hopes in 2016 once again hinge on their lower boards, then he may be an important ingredient to their success.
Record: 6.5 / 8 (81%)
Performance Rating: 2345
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
3rd Team: FM Jason Shi (CON)
This was another easy decision as Shi, though not terribly active, scored perfectly in his games, notching several victories along the way which were vital to Connecticut making it to the postseason.
Although he has not played an excessive amount in any season, his overall record in the League really is quite stellar, something which should not be overlooked in regards to the Dreadnoughts making it to the postseason three years in a row. While they have unfortunately been unable to make it out of the first round any of those years, once they break through there, with strong performers like him available, they can certainly be a threat to any team.
Record: 4.0 / 4 (100%)
Performance Rating: 2629
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Other Candidates:
As mentioned, Board Four did not have quite as many strong performers, in part because several of the top Board Threes, like Elliott Liu and David Golub, also played some games on Board Four, scoring wins there which lowered the general record amongst the Board Four regulars. The main other candidate was NM Siddharth Arun (NE) (3.5 / 4, 2458 Performance) who had a strong season with a postseason win but wasn’t really active enough to merit serious consideration against those who made it.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
And so those are the All Star Teams! Congratulations again to all those who made it:
First Team:
1. GM Zviad Izoria (MAN) (2638)
2. GM Varuzhan Akobian (STL) (2721)
3. FM Elliott Liu (LV) (2329)
4. NM Nicholas Rosenthal (STL) (2162)
Average Rating: 2463
Second Team:
1. GM Jeffery Xiong (DAL) (2616)
2. GM Joel Benjamin (NJ) (2629)
3. NM Levy Rozman (MAN) (2378)
4. NM Bryce Tiglon (SEA) (2305)
Average Rating: 2482
Third Team:
1. GM Andrey Stukopin (RIO) (2682)
2. IM Andrey Gorovets (LUB) (2617)
3. NM Atulya Vaidya (DAL) (2271)
4. FM Jason Shi (CON) (2249)
Average Rating: 2455
Stay tuned as we announce the 2015 Rookie of the Year award before we begin the Game of the Year Contest!