He showed talent and, coached by FIDE Master Richard Bérubé, he won a number of provincial and national grade school championships over the next several years.

[2] Reaching National Master strength by age 14, Charbonneau shared 2nd-3rd places in the Canadian Cadet Championship (under 16) at Victoria 1997 with 6.5/9.

[12] Charbonneau earned his first Canadian national team selection at the age of 17 in 2000, and played for Canada in the next four Chess Olympiads as well.

In the fall of 2005 he played Board 1 on the winning Baltimore Kingfishers team in the online United States Chess League and won the Most Valuable Player award.

[21][22] In the Zonal Canadian Chess Championship at Toronto 2006, Charbonneau shared 2nd-5th places with 6.5/9, behind new champion Igor Zugic.

The story of his becoming a grandmaster is recounted in King's Gambit: A Son, A Father and the World's Most Dangerous Game, by Paul Hoffman.

The book also discusses Charbonneau's 2-0 loss to Étienne Bacrot at the controversial FIDE World Championship Knockout Tournament, Tripoli 2004, as well as his relationship with Irina Krush.