Karlis Ozols

Karlis Aleksandrs Ozols (; 9 August 1912, in Riga – 23 March 2001, in Australia) was a Latvian lieutenant in the Nazi-controlled Latvian Auxiliary Police and a member of Heinrich Himmler's SS during WW2. After later migrating to Australia, he was recommended to be charged under that country's War Crimes Act for helping oversee the mass-killings of Jews and anti-fascist insurgents in both Latvia and Belarus, but this was not pursued to prosecution. Ozols was also a champion Latvian-Australian chess player.

Early life Ozols was born in Riga in 1912. He studied law at university in that city from 1932 to 1938. His studies were interrupted by his joining the Latvian army as an officer in 1938. He became a lieutenant in 1940 and was able to complete his law degree the following year.

Apart from becoming a state and national chess champion, Ozols together his wife Erika, lived an unassuming life. He was first named in war criminal investigations in 1963 and was the subject of an Australian government report into war crimes in 1986. The director of the National Crime Authority recommended charges of genocide against Ozols, however the case failed to proceed and was dropped in 1995 due to an apparent lack of funds to continue the investigation. In 2000, Latvian authorities wished to investigate the possible extradition of Ozols to Latvia for war crimes but this never eventuated due to Ozols's ill health and consequent death.

In 1937, he tied for 17-18th in Ķemeri. The event was won by three players: Salo Flohr, Vladimirs Petrovs and Samuel Reshevsky. In 1939, he took 16th in Ķemeri-Riga (Flohr won). In 1941, he took 8th in Riga (1st Latvian SSR-ch, Alexandrs Koblencs won). In 1944, he won the Riga championship. Like other members of the Latvian SS, he played in a number of small international events while in Displaced Persons camps, including The Matisons Memorial Tourney in Hanau (near Frankfurt) in 1947, which was won by his fellow Latvian Lūcijs Endzelīns, ahead of Elmārs Zemgalis, Efim Bogoljubow and Hönlinger. Ozols was equal fifth.

After immigrating to Australia in 1949, Ozols won the Victorian Championship nine times. He jointly won the Australian Championship in 1956 and became an International Master of Correspondence Chess in 1972.

Death Ozols died in Melbourne on 26 March 2001. He is buried at the Latvian Lutheran Garden, Niche 12, in the Fawkner Memorial Park.