I started writing with Laszlo in 1998 - read this report by Diana
Mihajlova published at Chessbase

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6109

It's about how you become a chess organizer from a previous stance of
communist military activity, attracting players from round the world,
even future great players. I thought the following paragraph amusing:-

"Many of the grandees of today have passed through the grinding mill
of the First Saturday including Magnus Carlsen, Emil Sutovsky, Vadim
Milov, Teimour Radjabov, Sofia Polgar, Hikaru Nakamura… to name but a
few. It would be amusing to know that both Carlsen and Nakamura made
unsuccessful attempts at achieving a norm! Peter Leko got his second
GM norm, in the 1993 April First Saturday, when he was 14 years old."
— Mihajlova

Well worth a read - plenty of photos too. I think several NY City
players have attended this tournaments at the just-master, and post-
master level. Irina Krush once asked me what I knew about it all. Not
sure she ever attended a First Saturday event, but she like all
'coming' players saw the potential and need of it. Chinese players
like Bu have also attended, and gained strong Elo increases, first GM
norms, and strong confidence too!

I wonder if such tournaments can be held in the Americas to break
Laszlo's monopoly on things.

Half a dozen years ago some organizers were very interested in the
prospect, and one even offered to donate land and buildings - but the
issue without an endowment was still one of cost, even simply
maintenance cost — Budapest seems to be a very inexpensive city to
visit and stay in.

Nevertheless, the prospect for encouraging chess in the US must rest
on such norm-seeking tournaments which will unlikely make anyone any
money, but will likely make strong players better.

Phil Innes