Wikipedia

Jean Hébert

Jean Hébert(born November 11, 1957, inQuebec City) is a Canadian chess player, writer, journalist, and commentator who holds theICCF titleofCorrespondence Chess Grandmasterand theFIDE titleofInternational Master.[1]The winner of theCanadian Chess Championshipin 1978 and 2009,[2]he also tied for the title in 2007, but lost in playoffs.[3]He represented Canada at the 1979Interzonaltournament as well as seven times atChess Olympiads.He also took part in theChess World Cup 2009,but was knocked out byPeter Svidlerin the first round.[4]In 2022, Hébert won the Canadian Seniors' Championship.[5]

Jean Hébert
Hébert, Interzonal Tournament, 1979
CountryCanada
BornNovember 11, 1957(1957-11-11)(age67)
Quebec City
Title
FIDErating2339(February 2020)
Peak rating2465(January 1997)
ICCFrating2461(April 2005)
ICCFpeak rating2512 (July 1996)

Early years

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Jean Hébert made his first notable mark in chess when, as a 15-year-old first-category player, he won the 1973 Carnaval Open at Quebec City, ahead of several experiencedmasters.[6]He represented Canada at the 1974 World Under-17 Championship, won the Junior Canadian Chess Championship atSaint Johnin 1975-76,[7]and represented Canada at theWorld Junior Chess Championship,Groningen,1976-77, making an even score of 6.5/13.[8]

Canadian champion

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Hébert played in his first Zonal Canadian Chess Championship atCalgary1975, placing 11th with 5.5/15; the winner wasPeter Biyiasas.[3]At his next attempt, Hebert won the 1978 Zonal atTorontowith 11/15, just ahead of Biyiasas. For scoring two-thirds of the possible points, he was awarded theInternational Mastertitle and, as winner of the event, qualified for theInterzonaltournament the next year. The Interzonal atRio de Janeirowas his first top-class international competition. He finished with 4.5/17, thus sharing last place withShimon Kagan;the event was won byRobert Hübner,Lajos Portisch,andTigran Petrosian.[9]In his Canadian Zonal title defence atMontreal1981, Hébert scored 10.5/15, but could only tie for 2nd-3rd, behind winnerIgor Ivanov.[3]In 2009, 31 years after his first Canadian championship, Hébert won again, this time at Guelph, Ontario. His 7.5/9 score put him a full point ahead of the field.[3]

At the Olympiads

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Hébert represented Canada a total of seven times atChess Olympiadsfrom 1978 to 2002. His first two appearances, in 1978 and 1980, saw the Canadian team score its highest placings ever, with eleventh and ninth-place finishes, respectively. In 72 games, Hébert scored (+25 =25 -22), for 52.1 per cent. His results include:[10]

Correspondence chess grandmaster

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Hébert has also excelled atcorrespondence chess.He placed second in the 1976 Canadian Correspondence Championship,[11]and was a member of the Canadian team at the 11th ICCF Olympiad, which won the bronze medal.[12]Hébert was awarded theInternational Grandmaster of Correspondence Chesstitle in 1984.[13]

Quebec successes

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Hébert has enjoyed considerable success inQuebecprovincial championships, at both the Open and Closed levels, as well as in other home-based events. He won the 1980MontrealInvitational with 6/8, and drew an exhibition match 2-2 withKevin Spraggettthat 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 1985Canadian Chess Championshipwith 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.[14]

He shared first in the 2002Canadian Open Chess Championshipat Montreal, with 8/10. Hébert has won the Quebec Open Chess Championship five times (1989, 1990, 1994, 2002, 2005), which ties the record for the most titles in that event; he also won the B Section of the Open in 2011, 2012 and 2014.[15]

Legacy and writings

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Hébert is the first CanadianFrancophonechess player to establish a solid international reputation by playing in the 1979Interzonaland with his seven Chess Olympiad appearances, earning a bronze medal in 1982. His 1978 victory at theCanadian Chess Championshipmade him the first Francophone to win since 1884. He is also the first Canadian Francophone to earn the correspondence grandmaster title, and is one of the few players to achieve international titles in both over-the-board and correspondence play. His publications include:[16]

  • Karpov - Korchnoi 1978(in French);
  • Border Wars III: The Book of the Third North American Correspondence Chess Championship(1984)
  • Secrets des grandes parties au coup par coup(Payot, 2001, in French)
  • Leçons d'échecs du tournoi international de Montréal 2001(Chess'n Math Associationin French);
  • Le livre du tournoi international de Montréal 2002(Chess'n Math Associationin French);
  • Modern BenoniCDChessBase.

Hébert has been a respected commentator at major chess matches and events, such as the 1989Quebec CityCandidatesmatch betweenKevin SpraggettandArtur Yusupov.He served as editor of the magazineEchecs+,published by the Quebec Chess Federation. He was the chess columnist forLa Presse,contributed toNew In Chess,and published the magazineAu nom du roi,which was succeeded by the e-bulletin,Hébert parle échecs.[16]He served for a time as a columnist and games analyst withChess Canadamagazine. Hébert was inducted into the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame in 2001.[17]

After reaching the Canadian title at age 20 in 1978, Hébert, despite significant improvement after that time, was surpassed in Canadian chess by the 1980 arrival of the Soviet defector,Igor Ivanov,and also byKevin Spraggett,over whom he at first had an edge.

Competitive resurgence

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Hébert showed that he was a durable competitor with his first-place tie at the 2007 Canadian Championship atKitchener;Nikolay Noritsynwon the playoffs.[3]

Hébert surpassed that performance when he won the 2009Canadian Chess ChampionshipatGuelphwith a score of 7.5/9 - a full point ahead of runner-upMark Bluvshtein- which, at 51, made him the oldest Canadian champion ever.[3]That same year, he won the Quebec Closed, the Montreal Open, and, on tiebreak, the championship of the French-speaking world inVallée D'Aoste,Italy.[18]

In 2022, Hébert won the Canadian Seniors championship atHalifax.[5]He then participated in the World Senior Chess Championship in Italy, finishing in a tie for sixth-ninth places, one point behind the tournament winner,John Nunn.[19][20]

References

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  1. ^Cohen, David (2018-12-29)."Jean Hébert".Canadian Chess Biographies.Retrieved2023-12-29.
  2. ^Wright, Stephen (2009)."Canadian Championship"(PDF).BCCF Bulletin.No. 171.Retrieved2023-12-31.
  3. ^abcdef"Canadian Closed Champions, 1873-present".B.C. Chess History.Retrieved2023-12-29.
  4. ^"Hebert, Jean".OlimpBase: The Encyclopedia of Team Chess.Retrieved2023-12-31.
  5. ^abRosner, Cecil (2022-09-23)."Quebec City's Jean Hébert excels at chess, as he has for the last 50 years".Globe and Mail.Retrieved2023-12-29.
  6. ^"Tournoi Carnaval de Québec - Gagnants / Quebec Carnival Tournament - Winners".Canbase: Fédération québécoise des échecs.Retrieved2023-12-31.
  7. ^"Canadian Junior Champions".B.C. Chess History.Retrieved2023-12-30.
  8. ^"15th World Junior Chess Championship: Groningen 1976/1977".OlimpBase: The Encyclopedia of Team Chess.Retrieved2023-12-31.
  9. ^"Rio de Janeiro Interzonal Tournament (1979)".Chessgames.Retrieved2023-12-29.
  10. ^Men's Chess Olympiads; Hebert, Jean,www.olimpbase.org
  11. ^"K-32 Championship of Canada 1976".Canadian Correspondence Chess Association.Retrieved2023-12-29.
  12. ^"CCO11/F, 11. Olympiad Final".International Correspondence Chess Federation.Retrieved2023-12-29.
  13. ^"GM Hébert, Jean".International Correspondence Chess Association.Retrieved2023-12-29.
  14. ^Quebec 1990,www.365chess.com
  15. ^"Championnat ouvert du Québec / Quebec Open Winners".Canbase: Fédération québécoise des échecs.Retrieved2023-12-30.
  16. ^abLaurin, Marcel (2012-07-11)."De bonnes nouvelles!".Ligue d'échecs de l'Outaouais(in French).Retrieved2023-12-29.
  17. ^Cohen, David (2019-06-12)."Canadian Chess Hall of Fame".Canadian Chess.Retrieved2023-12-29.
  18. ^Berry, Jonathan (2009-10-31)."Chess (column)".Globe and Mail.Retrieved2023-12-29.
  19. ^Rosner, Cecil (2022-11-11)."Quebec senior hopes to win gold at a world championship chess event in Italy".Globe and Mail.Retrieved2023-12-29.
  20. ^"Jean Hébert décroche la 6e place au Championnat senior du monde".Fédération québécoise des échecs(in French).Retrieved2023-12-30.
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