Fernand Gobet
Also known as Fernand R. Gobet
Fernand Gobet is a cognitive scientist whose work joins chess expertise with models of human learning and perception. He was Swiss junior champion in 1981 and received the International Master title in 1985, before earning a psychology doctorate at Fribourg in 1992. At Carnegie Mellon he worked with Herbert Simon, one of the founders of artificial intelligence, and he developed the CHREST cognitive architecture. He moved to Brunel University in 2003 and later took a Liverpool professorship in decision making and expertise. As of October 2026, he is a Professorial Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and a professor of psychology at Roehampton.
- Now at
- University of Liverpool, London School of Economics and Political Science and University of Roehampton
- Works
- 473
- Citations
- 14,194
- h-index
- 60
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.
Timeline
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1981–1989
Swiss junior champion and editor
He wins the Swiss junior championship in 1981 and co-edits the Swiss Chess Review from 1981 to 1989.
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1985
An International Master title
He receives the title of International Master in 1985.
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1992
A psychology doctorate in Fribourg
He earns his Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Fribourg in 1992, with a dissertation titled The memories of a chessplayer.
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July 1993
CHUMP and the CHREST architecture
At Carnegie Mellon he works on chess expertise with Herbert Simon, one of the founders of artificial intelligence. The CHUMP chess program is introduced at the 7th Advances in Computer Chess conference in July 1993. He develops the CHREST cognitive architecture for the processes of learning and perception used by humans.
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2003
A chair at Brunel University
He moves to Brunel University in 2003 to take up a chair in cognitive psychology.
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Since 2013
A Liverpool professorship
He is Professor of Decision Making and Expertise at the University of Liverpool from 2013.
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2018
The psychology of chess
He publishes The psychology of chess with Routledge in 2018.
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As of October 2026
A London School of Economics fellowship
He is a Professorial Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and a professor of psychology at the University of Roehampton. He describes himself as a cognitive scientist interested in learning, language acquisition and expertise.
Sources and credits
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