In another very important game from the final week of the regular season which ended up being key to who would take the division title, GM Holt’s nice maneuvering efforts wound up carrying the day.
Wildcard #4: GM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs GM Illya Nyzhnyk (STL) 1-0
This was another game which I felt would be a strong entry to the GOTY Contest - another effort which was definitely not the most typical of games, with a very long maneuvering stage, not completely dissimilar to the previous game. Add to that another game between two very strong players and a game which was absolutely critical to deciding the Western Division regular season title, it seemed a natural choice.