Page "Judit Polgár" Paragraph 8

In April 1986, nine-year-old Judit played in her first rated tournament in the U. S., finishing first in the unrated section of the New York Open, winning $ 1, 000.

All three Polgár sisters competed.

Susan, 16-years-old, competed in the grandmaster section and had a victory against GM Walter Browne and Sophia, 11-years-old, finished second in her section, but Judit gathered most of the attention in the tournament.

Grandmasters would drop by to watch the serious, quiet child playing.

She won her first seven games before drawing the final game.

Although the unrated section had many of the weaker players in the Open, it also had players of expert strength, who were foreign to the United States and had not been rated yet.

Milorad Boskovic related a conversation with Judit's sixth-round opponent, a Yugoslav player he knew to be a strong expert, " He told me he took some chances in the game because he couldn't believe she was going to attack so well.

" Not able to speak English, her mother translated as she told a reporter her goal was to be a chess professional.

When the reporter asked her if she would be world champion one day, Judit answered, " I will try.