The first Baltic Chess Congress took place in Riga, Latvia (then Russian Empire), in 1899. The winner was Robert Behting, the elder brother of Kārlis Bētiņš, who won a play-off game with Karl Wilhelm Rosenkrantz. The second Baltic Chess Congress was played in Dorpat, Estonia (then Russian Empire), in 1901. There were four winners.
The first Baltic Chess Championship was held in the city of Klaipėda, Lithuania, on May 22–27, 1931. The eight-player single round-robin tournament was won by Isakas Vistaneckis (LTU) 4.5/7, a half point ahead of S. Gordonas (LTU), Paul Saladin Leonhardt (GER), Vladas Mikėnas (EST/LTU) and Vladimirs Petrovs (LAT). The three others, Fricis Apšenieks (LAT), Aleksandras Machtas (LTU), and E. Gertschikoff (GER) finished in consecutive places.