At Linares 1994, Polgár lost a controversial game to the World Champion Garry Kasparov. The tournament marked the first time the 17-year-old Polgár was invited to compete with the world's strongest players. After four games she had two points. During her game with Kasparov in the fifth round, Kasparov gradually outplayed her and had a clear advantage after 35 moves. On his 36th move, the World Champion reportedly changed his mind about the move of a knight, and moved the piece to a different square. According to chess rules, once a player has released a piece, the move must stand, so if Kasparov did remove his hand, he should have been required to play his original move. Polgár did not challenge Kasparov, in the moment, because, she stated, "I was playing the World Champion and didn't want to cause unpleasantness during my first invitation to such an important event. I was also afraid that if my complaint was overruled I would be penalized on the clock when we were in time pressure." She did however look questioningly at the arbiter, Carlos Falcon, who witnessed the incident and took no action.