Sax participated twice in a row in the Candidates Tournament – after qualifying at the SuboticaInterzonal in 1987 and at the ManilaInterzonal in 1990 respectively – but was eliminated in the Candidates in 1988 by Nigel Short (+0=3-2) and in 1991, after 'extra time', by the then sixty-year-old Viktor Korchnoi (+1=6-1; +0=1-1 rapid chess). Sax's highest Elo rating was 2610 in January 1988 and again in January 1989; his best world ranking was position 12 shared, in the half-year-list of January-to-June 1989.
Judit Polgár paid tribute to him shortly after his death:
Gyula Sax was one of the greatest chess players of Hungary. He was the first GM who treated me as a fellow chess player when I was only 9 years old. He was ready to analyze positions with me, and shared ideas and by doing so he gave me a lot of self-confidence. Later I met him in many different occasions, we played against each other, and played in the national team together. He was also an Olympic gold medalist and a fantastically energetic attacking player![2]