RIP Tom Wozney

Wozney circa 1966

      It was with sadness that I learned that veteran master Thomas Wozney of Parma, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb, passed away at the age of 82 on March 1st this year. He was retired from East Ohio Gas Company after many years of service. 

     Chester Thomas Wozney, born April 20, 1940, was a US Army Specialist 4th Class when he won the US Armed Forces Championship in 1966. At that time he was with the 51st Signal Battalion, Company A, stationed in South Korea. For those not familiar with Army ranks, he was the equivalent rank of a Corporal except specialists are not considered a Non-commissioned Officer; the specialist's job is focused on technical expertise and they normally have less personnel leadership responsibilities than Corporals. 

     Besides having many Midwest tournament victories to his credit, in 1964 Wozney tied for first in the Ohio Championship (with Richard Kause, George Kellner, James Harkins and David Presser). 

     He won the title won outright in 1967 and in 1969 he eked out a tiebreak victory over Robert H. Burns, Jr and Richard Garber. 

     Then in 1971 he again tied for first with Robert Burns and Ross Sprague, Burns getting the title on tiebreaks. 

     In 1972 he won the State title on tiebreaks over Ross Sprague, Richard Kause and Jerry Fink. In 1974 he again tied for first with Robert Burns, Jerry Fink, James Voelker and Arthur Keske with Burns again gaining the title on tiebreaks. 

     I never met Wozney persoanlly, but saw him many times at tournaments in the 60s and 70s and he struck me as being a pleasant, quiet and reserved individual. This game features a snazzy win by Wozney from the 1973 US Open. 

 

[Event "US Open, Chicago"] [Site "?"] [Date "1973.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Marvin Rogan"] [Black "Thomas Wozney"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B80"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "1973.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.10.20"] {B80: Sicilian Scheveningen} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. g3 {This line is not difficult to meet and is not very challenging to black. 7. Bd3 is the main line.} Be7 8. Bg2 O-O 9. O-O Qc7 10. Qe2 {White might actually served better by 10.f4} (10. f4 d6 11. Kh1 Bd7 12. Nb3 b5 13. a3 b4 14. axb4 Nxb4 15. g4 {with equal chances. Guseinov,G (2625) -So,W (2640) Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2009}) 10... d6 {[%mdl 32]} 11. Rad1 Bd7 { [%mdl 32]} 12. f4 Rac8 13. g4 {This allows a tactical shot that wins a Pawn.} ( 13. f5 b5 14. fxe6 fxe6 15. Bh3 Nxd4 16. Rxd4 {Black is slightly better. Honfi, K (2390)-Ribli,Z (2590) Baden-Baden 1981}) (13. Kh1 b5 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. a3 Qb7 16. Bd4 {equals. Markosian,D (2406)-Bairachny, R (2442) Tula 2000}) 13... Nxd4 14. Bxd4 {This move looks logical, but he actually does better by capturing with the R. In any case, black wins a Pawn.} (14. Rxd4 e5 15. Rd2 Bxg4 16. Qe1 Be6 17. f5 Bc4 18. Rf3 Rfd8 19. Rg3 {Theoretically black should be able to defend himself, but in Kamishov,M-Baturinsky,V Moscow 1945, he couldn't manage it anbd lost.}) 14... e5 {Picking off the g-Pawn.} 15. fxe5 dxe5 (15... Bxg4 { would be less effective.} 16. exd6 Bxd6 17. Bf3 Bxf3 18. Rxf3 Be5 19. Bxe5 Qxe5 20. Rdf1) 16. Be3 Bxg4 17. Bf3 Be6 {Threatening a pin with ...Bc4} 18. Qg2 Bc5 19. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 20. Kh1 Rfd8 21. Rg1 {This attack on g7 is harmless...white simply has no way to follow it up.} g6 22. Rdf1 Qe3 {Plunging right into the guts of white’s position and generating tactical threats. Hoping for ...Rd2.} 23. Be2 {Attacking the N on f6, but missing a pretty continuation.} (23. Qg3 { was no better though.} Rd2 24. Qxe5 Nd7 25. Qg3 Rxc2 {Black's advantaghe will prove decisive.}) 23... Rxc3 {Black is clearly winning.} 24. bxc3 Nxe4 25. Rf3 Qc5 (25... Bd5 {is cute...if} 26. Rxe3 Nf2#) 26. Rd3 {This loses immediately to a nifty little combination, but there wasn’t much else.} Rxd3 27. cxd3 Nf2+ {White resigned. Near flawless play by Wozney.} (27... Nf2+ 28. Qxf2 Qxf2 29. Bf1 Bd5+ 30. Bg2 Bxg2+ 31. Rxg2 Qf1+ 32. Rg1 Qxd3) 0-1