Jean Hébert
Encyclopedia
Jean Hébert is a Canadian International Master of chess
, an International Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess, and a chess writer, journalist, and commentator. He is the current (2009) Canadian chess champion, a title he first won in 1978. He tied for this title in 2007 as well, but lost in playoffs. He represented Canada at the 1979 Interzonal
tournament, as well as seven times in chess Olympiad
s.
, ahead of several experienced master
s. He represented Canada at the 1974 World Under-17 Championship, won the Junior Canadian Chess Championship
at Saint John
in 1975-76, and represented Canada at the World Junior Chess Championship
, Groningen 1976-77, making an even score of 6.5/13.
at Calgary
1975, placing 11th with 5.5/15; the winner was Peter Biyiasas
. He improved dramatically in the next three years, and in his next attempt, won the 1978 Zonal at Toronto
with 11/15, just ahead of Biyiasas. For scoring two-thirds of the possible points, he was automatically awarded the International Master title, and as winner of the event, qualified for the Interzonal
tournament the next year. The Interzonal at Rio de Janeiro
was his first top-class international event, and Hébert struggled with 4.5/17, thus sharing last place, with the title won by Robert Hübner
, Lajos Portisch
, and Tigran Petrosian
. In his Canadian Zonal title defence at Montreal
1981, Hébert played well with 10.5/15, but could only tie for 2nd-3rd, behind winner Igor V. Ivanov, a Soviet defector.
. He placed second in the 1976 Canadian Correspondence Championship, and was a member of the bronze-medal winning Canadian team in the 11th ICCF Olympiad. Hébert was awarded the title of International Grandmaster
of Correspondence Chess
by ICCF in 1984.
provincial championships, at both the Open and Closed levels, as well as in other home-based events. He won the 1980 Montreal
Invitational with 6/8, and drew an exhibition match 2-2 with Kevin Spraggett
that year. Hébert faced Spraggett again in a playoff match in 1982, after the two had tied for 2nd-3rd places in the 1981 Zonal, for a reserve place in the Interzonal. This time Spraggett prevailed by 3.5-0.5. Hébert shared 2nd-3rd places in the Quebec
Closed at Montreal 1983 with 6/9, behind Spraggett. He shared 1st-2nd places in the 1985 Quebec Closed on 8.5/11 with George Levtchouk. Hébert placed tied 3rd-4th in the 1985 Canadian Chess Championship
with 6.5/9, as Ivanov and Sylvain Barbeau shared the top spots. He finished 2nd in the Quebec Closed 1988 with 8.5/11 behind Ivanov. Hébert won the 1990 Quebec Closed with 7.5/9.
He shared first in the 2002 Canadian Open Chess Championship
at Montreal, with 8/10.
Hébert has won the Quebec Open Chess Championship five times (1989, 1990, 1994, 2002, 2005), and this ties the record for the most titles in that event.
chess player to establish a solid international reputation, by playing in the 1979 Interzonal
, and with his seven chess Olympiad
appearances, earning a bronze medal in 1982. He was the first Francophone Canadian Chess Championship
winner since 1884, and only the second ever. He is also the first Canadian Francophone
to earn the correspondence Grandmaster title, and is one of the few players to achieve international titles at both over-the-board and correspondence chess. His writings have included these works:
Hébert has been a respected commentator at major chess matches and events, such as the 1989 Quebec City
Candidates' encounter between Kevin Spraggett
and Artur Yusupov
. He served as Editor for the magazine Echecs+, published by the Quebec Chess Federation. He was the chess columnist for La Presse (Canada)
, has written articles for New In Chess
, and published the magazine Au Nom du Roi, which has since been replaced by his own online newsletter. He served for a time as a columnist and games analyst with Chess Canada magazine, writing as lucidly and incisively in English as he does in his native French. Hébert was inducted into the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame in 2001.
After reaching the Canadian title at age 20 in 1978, Hébert, in spite of his own significant improvement after that time, was surpassed in Canadian chess by 1980 Soviet defector Igor V. Ivanov, and also by Kevin Spraggett
, over whom he had at first had the edge.
. He surpassed that performance in August, 2009 at Guelph, Ontario
, when he won the 2009 Canadian Chess Championship
with a score of 7.5/9, a full point ahead of runner-up Grandmaster Mark Bluvshtein
; this victory made him, at the age of nearly fifty-one, the oldest Canadian champion ever.
Also in 2009, he won the Quebec Closed (January) and the Montreal Open (September).
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, an International Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess, and a chess writer, journalist, and commentator. He is the current (2009) Canadian chess champion, a title he first won in 1978. He tied for this title in 2007 as well, but lost in playoffs. He represented Canada at the 1979 Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
tournament, as well as seven times in chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s.
Early years
Jean Hébert made his first significant mark in chess when as a fifteen-year-old first category player, he won the 1973 Carnaval Open at Quebec CityQuebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, ahead of several experienced master
Chess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
s. He represented Canada at the 1974 World Under-17 Championship, won the Junior Canadian Chess Championship
Canadian Chess Championship
This is the list of all the winners of the Canadian Chess Championship, often referred to as the Canadian Closed Championship to distinguish it from the annual Canadian Open tournament. The winner of the Canadian Closed advances to the next stage of the FIDE World Chess Championship cycle...
at Saint John
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
in 1975-76, and represented Canada at the World Junior Chess Championship
World Junior Chess Championship
The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....
, Groningen 1976-77, making an even score of 6.5/13.
Canadian champion
Hébert played in his first Zonal Canadian Chess ChampionshipCanadian Chess Championship
This is the list of all the winners of the Canadian Chess Championship, often referred to as the Canadian Closed Championship to distinguish it from the annual Canadian Open tournament. The winner of the Canadian Closed advances to the next stage of the FIDE World Chess Championship cycle...
at Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
1975, placing 11th with 5.5/15; the winner was Peter Biyiasas
Peter Biyiasas
Peter Biyiasas is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He was Canadian champion in 1972 and 1975, represented Canada with fine success on four Olympiad teams, played in two Interzonals. He moved to the United States in 1979, settling in California. He has been retired from competitive play since the...
. He improved dramatically in the next three years, and in his next attempt, won the 1978 Zonal at Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
with 11/15, just ahead of Biyiasas. For scoring two-thirds of the possible points, he was automatically awarded the International Master title, and as winner of the event, qualified for the Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
tournament the next year. The Interzonal at Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
was his first top-class international event, and Hébert struggled with 4.5/17, thus sharing last place, with the title won by Robert Hübner
Robert Hübner
Robert Hübner is a respected German chess Grandmaster, chess writer, and papyrologist . At eighteen, he was joint winner of the West German Chess Championship...
, Lajos Portisch
Lajos Portisch
Lajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"...
, and Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
. In his Canadian Zonal title defence at Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
1981, Hébert played well with 10.5/15, but could only tie for 2nd-3rd, behind winner Igor V. Ivanov, a Soviet defector.
At the Olympiads
Hébert has represented Canada a total of seven times at Chess Olympiads from 1978–2002. His first two appearances, in 1978 and 1980, saw Canada score its highest team placings ever, with eleventh and ninth place finishes, respectively. In 72 games, he has scored (+25 =25 -22), for 52.1 per cent. Here are his detailed Olympiad results.- Buenos Aires 197823rd Chess OlympiadThe 23rd Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 25 and November 12, 1978, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.-References:...
, board 1, 4/11 (+2 =4 -5); - Valletta 198024th Chess OlympiadThe 24th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between November 20 and December 6, 1980, in La Valletta, Malta.-References:* OlimpBase...
, board 1, 7/12 (+4 =6 -2); - Valletta 198025th Chess OlympiadThe 25th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 29 and November 16, 1982, in Lucerne, Switzerland.-References:...
, board 3, 8.5/12 (+7 =3 -2), board bronze medal; - Thessaloniki 198426th Chess OlympiadThe 26th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between November 18 and December 5, 1984, in Thessaloniki, Greece.-References:...
, board 2, 6.5/12 (+5 =3 -4); - Novi Sad 199029th Chess OlympiadThe 29th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between November 16 and December 4, 1990, in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia.-References:...
, board 2, 2.5/7 (+2 =1 -4); - Yerevan 199632nd Chess OlympiadThe 32nd Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, took place between September 15 and October 2, 1996, in Yerevan, Armenia.- Chess competition :...
, board 3, 7/12 (+4 =6 -2); - Bled 200235th Chess OlympiadThe 35th Chess Olympiad took place from October 25th to November 11th, 2002, in Bled, . In the men's tournament there were 136 teams, and in the women's, 92 teams...
, 2nd reserve, 2/6 (+1 =2 -3).
Correspondence chess Grandmaster
Hébert has also excelled at correspondence chessCorrespondence chess
Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon...
. He placed second in the 1976 Canadian Correspondence Championship, and was a member of the bronze-medal winning Canadian team in the 11th ICCF Olympiad. Hébert was awarded the title of International Grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
of Correspondence Chess
Correspondence chess
Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon...
by ICCF in 1984.
Quebec successes
Hébert has enjoyed considerable success in QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
provincial championships, at both the Open and Closed levels, as well as in other home-based events. He won the 1980 Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
Invitational with 6/8, and drew an exhibition match 2-2 with Kevin Spraggett
Kevin Spraggett
Kevin Spraggett is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He is the fourth Canadian to earn the grandmaster title, after Abe Yanofsky, Duncan Suttles and Peter Biyiasas. Spraggett is the only Canadian to have qualified for the Candidates' level, having done so in 1985 and 1988...
that year. Hébert faced Spraggett again in a playoff match in 1982, after the two had tied for 2nd-3rd places in the 1981 Zonal, for a reserve place in the Interzonal. This time Spraggett prevailed by 3.5-0.5. Hébert shared 2nd-3rd places in the Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
Closed at Montreal 1983 with 6/9, behind Spraggett. He shared 1st-2nd places in the 1985 Quebec Closed on 8.5/11 with George Levtchouk. Hébert placed tied 3rd-4th in the 1985 Canadian Chess Championship
Canadian Chess Championship
This is the list of all the winners of the Canadian Chess Championship, often referred to as the Canadian Closed Championship to distinguish it from the annual Canadian Open tournament. The winner of the Canadian Closed advances to the next stage of the FIDE World Chess Championship cycle...
with 6.5/9, as Ivanov and Sylvain Barbeau shared the top spots. He finished 2nd in the Quebec Closed 1988 with 8.5/11 behind Ivanov. Hébert won the 1990 Quebec Closed with 7.5/9.
He shared first in the 2002 Canadian Open Chess Championship
Canadian Open Chess Championship
The Canadian Open Chess Championship is Canada's Open chess championship, first held in 1956, and held annually since 1973, usually in mid-summer. It is organized by the Chess Federation of Canada....
at Montreal, with 8/10.
Hébert has won the Quebec Open Chess Championship five times (1989, 1990, 1994, 2002, 2005), and this ties the record for the most titles in that event.
Legacy and writings
Hébert is the first Canadian FrancophoneFrancophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
chess player to establish a solid international reputation, by playing in the 1979 Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
, and with his seven chess Olympiad
Olympiad
An Olympiad is a period of four years, associated with the Olympic Games of Classical Greece. In the Hellenistic period, beginning with Ephorus, Olympiads were used as calendar epoch....
appearances, earning a bronze medal in 1982. He was the first Francophone Canadian Chess Championship
Canadian Chess Championship
This is the list of all the winners of the Canadian Chess Championship, often referred to as the Canadian Closed Championship to distinguish it from the annual Canadian Open tournament. The winner of the Canadian Closed advances to the next stage of the FIDE World Chess Championship cycle...
winner since 1884, and only the second ever. He is also the first Canadian Francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
to earn the correspondence Grandmaster title, and is one of the few players to achieve international titles at both over-the-board and correspondence chess. His writings have included these works:
- Karpov -- Korchnoi 1978 (in French);
- Border Wars III;
- Leçons d'échecs du Tounoi International de Montréal 2001 (Chess'n Math AssociationChess'n Math AssociationThe Chess'n Math Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing chess into Canadian schools...
in French); - Le Livre du Tournoi International de Montréal 2002 (Chess'n Math AssociationChess'n Math AssociationThe Chess'n Math Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing chess into Canadian schools...
in French); - Modern Benoni CD ChessBaseChessBaseChessBase GmbH is a German company that markets chess software, maintains a chess news site, and operates a server for online chess. Set up in 1998, it maintains and sells massive databases, containing most historic games, that permit analysis that had not been possible prior to computing...
.
Hébert has been a respected commentator at major chess matches and events, such as the 1989 Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
Candidates' encounter between Kevin Spraggett
Kevin Spraggett
Kevin Spraggett is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He is the fourth Canadian to earn the grandmaster title, after Abe Yanofsky, Duncan Suttles and Peter Biyiasas. Spraggett is the only Canadian to have qualified for the Candidates' level, having done so in 1985 and 1988...
and Artur Yusupov
Artur Yusupov
Artur Mayakovich Yusupov is a German International Grandmaster of chess, and a chess writer.-Chess career:...
. He served as Editor for the magazine Echecs+, published by the Quebec Chess Federation. He was the chess columnist for La Presse (Canada)
La Presse (Canada)
La Presse, founded in 1884, is a French-language Monday-Saturday newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is owned today by Groupe Gesca, a subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada. The Sunday version was dropped in 2009.-Description:...
, has written articles for New In Chess
New In Chess
New In Chess is a chess magazine that appears eight times a year with chief editors International Grandmaster Jan Timman and Dirk Jan Ten Geuzendam. It contains notes by top players and chess prodigies on their own games...
, and published the magazine Au Nom du Roi, which has since been replaced by his own online newsletter. He served for a time as a columnist and games analyst with Chess Canada magazine, writing as lucidly and incisively in English as he does in his native French. Hébert was inducted into the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame in 2001.
After reaching the Canadian title at age 20 in 1978, Hébert, in spite of his own significant improvement after that time, was surpassed in Canadian chess by 1980 Soviet defector Igor V. Ivanov, and also by Kevin Spraggett
Kevin Spraggett
Kevin Spraggett is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He is the fourth Canadian to earn the grandmaster title, after Abe Yanofsky, Duncan Suttles and Peter Biyiasas. Spraggett is the only Canadian to have qualified for the Candidates' level, having done so in 1985 and 1988...
, over whom he had at first had the edge.
Competitive resurgence
Hébert has scaled back his top-class play in recent years, but still competes in a few events each year, and showed, at the age of nearly fifty, that he remained a competitive force with his first-place tie in the 2007 Canadian Championship at Kitchener, OntarioKitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
. He surpassed that performance in August, 2009 at Guelph, Ontario
Guelph, Ontario
Guelph is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Waterloo and west of downtown Toronto at the intersection of Highway 6 and Highway 7. It is the seat of Wellington County, but is politically independent of it...
, when he won the 2009 Canadian Chess Championship
Canadian Chess Championship
This is the list of all the winners of the Canadian Chess Championship, often referred to as the Canadian Closed Championship to distinguish it from the annual Canadian Open tournament. The winner of the Canadian Closed advances to the next stage of the FIDE World Chess Championship cycle...
with a score of 7.5/9, a full point ahead of runner-up Grandmaster Mark Bluvshtein
Mark Bluvshtein
Mark Bluvshtein is a Russian-born Canadian chess player, a Grandmaster, who resides in Canada. He became the youngest Canadian International Grandmaster ever in 2004, at the age of 16, having become an International Master at the age of 13...
; this victory made him, at the age of nearly fifty-one, the oldest Canadian champion ever.
Also in 2009, he won the Quebec Closed (January) and the Montreal Open (September).