[5] 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 experienced masters.

[8] Hébert played in his first Zonal Canadian Chess Championship at Calgary 1975, placing 11th with 5.5/15; the winner was Peter Biyiasas.

For scoring two-thirds of the possible points, he was awarded the International Master title and, as winner of the event, qualified for the Interzonal tournament the next year.

He finished with 4.5/17, thus sharing last place with Shimon Kagan; the event was won by Robert Hübner, Lajos Portisch, and Tigran Petrosian.

[13] Hébert has enjoyed considerable success in Quebec provincial championships, at both the Open and Closed levels, as well as in other home-based events.

Hébert placed tied 3rd-4th in the 1985 Canadian Chess Championship with 6.5/9, as Ivanov and Sylvain Barbeau shared the top spots.

Hébert showed that he was a durable competitor with his first-place tie at the 2007 Canadian Championship at Kitchener; Nikolay Noritsyn won the playoffs.

[3] That same year, he won the Quebec Closed, the Montreal Open, and, on tiebreak, the championship of the French-speaking world in Vallée D'Aoste, Italy.

[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.