Pascal Charbonneau is a Canadian chess grandmaster with numerous accomplishments. Born on November 14, 1983, in Montreal, Quebec, he started playing chess at the tender age of 9 after finding a chess board in his family's basement. He won the Quebec Championship in 2002 and repeated the feat in 2004.
His biggest achievement is winning the Canadian Chess Championship twice in 2002 and 2004, making him one of the youngest-ever champions. He represented Canada at the 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008 Chess Olympiads. In 2006, the World Chess Federation awarded him the title of International Master, and he achieved the title of Grandmaster in 2006.
Charbonneau graduated from Brooklyn College in the U.S, with a BA in Creative Writing in 2009. In 2011, he married Jennifer Shahade, a U.S chess player and poker author.
In addition to his chess career, Charbonneau has also explored other professional avenues. He works at Two Sigma, a hedge fund in New York, and served as an analyst for the online TV show "The Playbook" on Wall Street Warriors.
Charbonneau currently resides in New York City and is a prominent figure in pop culture, where he has appeared on shows such as Everybody Hates Chris, The Daily Show, and MTV True Life.