♟️ About László Nagy

László Nagy is a Hungarian FIDE International Organizer (IO) and the founder and chief organizer of the First Saturday Chess Tournament Series in Budapest, Hungary. He has organized First Saturday events since 1992, building the series around regular FIDE-rated classical tournaments for players seeking international experience, rating improvement, and title norms. FIDE’s current Events Commission organizer list continues to identify Nagy, Laszlo as an International Organizer representing Hungary.

His work focuses primarily on GM and IM norm tournaments and FIDE-rated groups for developing players. First Saturday normally uses compact round-robin fields, allowing the organizer to construct groups according to rating and title requirements. Over more than three decades, the tournaments have attracted players from numerous national federations. Several players who later reached the highest levels of international chess competed in First Saturday events during their development, including Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Teimour Radjabov, Péter Lékó, Emil Sutovsky, and Vadim Milov.

László Nagy remains directly involved in the series in 2026, handling applications, invitations, field composition, and participant communication. The official 2026 calendar contains First Saturday tournaments in February, April, June, July, August, October, and December. The August event concluded on August 8, while the next editions are scheduled for October 3–10 and December 5–12, 2026 in Budapest. FIDE records also confirm Nagy as Chief Organizer of the June 2026 First Saturday IM tournament.

📜 First Saturday Since 1992

The First Saturday tournament concept began in Budapest in 1992. Its name reflects the traditional scheduling model, with tournaments beginning on the first Saturday of the selected month. The series developed around a practical challenge in international chess: players pursuing FIDE titles need tournaments with the correct combination of titled opponents, ratings, federations, and competitive conditions. Nagy therefore built First Saturday around carefully composed fields designed to provide legitimate opportunities for Grandmaster and International Master norms.

This approach helped establish Budapest as a regular destination for ambitious international players. Historic FIDE and chess-media reports document First Saturday tournaments across several decades, while the series continues under the same organizer today.

🌍 International Player Development

First Saturday has played a particularly visible role in the development of young and ambitious tournament players. The series provides repeated opportunities to compete against titled players without waiting for a single major annual festival. Among the best-known former participants is Péter Lékó, who earned his second GM norm at a First Saturday event in 1993 at age 14. ChessBase has also documented appearances by future elite players including Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura during earlier stages of their careers.

The tournaments have traditionally attracted competitors from many countries. Consequently, even relatively small round-robin groups can provide players with significant international experience alongside the possibility of earning norms or improving their FIDE ratings.

🏆 First Saturday Budapest 2026

The official 2026 First Saturday program schedules GM and IM tournaments on February 7–14, April 4–11, June 6–13, July 4–11, August 1–8, October 3–10, and December 5–12. The standard GM and IM sections use 10-player round robins with nine rounds. The time control is 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the remainder, with a 30-second increment from move one. The schedule normally fits nine games into eight days with one double-round day.

Alongside the title-norm groups, First Saturday also offers U2250 FIDE-rated tournaments. These sections give lower-rated players access to international classical competition while maintaining the same broader tournament structure. In June 2026, FIDE officially recorded László Nagy as Chief Organizer of the First Saturday IM-A tournament in Budapest. The event featured ten players and nine round-robin games and was submitted for FIDE standard rating.

♟️ October and December 2026

Following the completed August tournament, the next First Saturday event is scheduled for October 3–10, 2026. Another edition will follow from December 5–12, 2026, closing the 2026 series. The official First Saturday website currently lists both events together with the 2027 program. Players can apply directly to László Nagy, who manages entries and constructs the tournament groups according to ratings, titles, federation representation, and norm requirements.

The events are currently based at Classic Hotel in Budapest, although the playing venue can change between editions. Therefore, participants should confirm the venue through the current tournament announcement before traveling.

🏛️ Tournament Organization

Unlike a conventional chess club or federation, this MyChess.Events organizer page represents László Nagy as an individual professional chess organizer. His principal project is First Saturday, and he remains the central point of contact for tournament applications. His responsibilities include communicating with prospective participants, creating balanced GM and IM groups, coordinating titled-player participation, managing the tournament calendar, and working with arbiters and other officials.

The continuity of the series since 1992 is a defining feature of Nagy’s work. First Saturday has adapted its tournament schedules and venues over time, while preserving its core purpose: providing frequent, structured international classical tournaments in Budapest.