Early Checkmate Covers
In April, 1975, James Sutcliffe of Great Britain and Hans Ulfstomer of Sweden published "Checkmate, A Catalog of Philatelic Items with a Chess Connection." By 1980, the Checkmate Catalog had reached an impressive 5 volumes, carefully documenting nearly every legitimate stamp and cover.
I am just another collector who prizes the catalog and uses it in my quest to obtain as complete a collection as possible. Here are some of my early chess stamps and covers. The sharing of these images is almost as much fun as acquiring them.
Checkmate 2: Kecskemet, Hungary, 1927
Checkmate 3: German Publicity Week, May 1933
Checkmate 4: Czech Chess Congress, 1933
Checkmate 5: 6th Chess Olympiad, Warsaw, 1935
Checkmate 6: 3rd International Tournament, Moscow, 1936
Checkmate 7: International Team Competition, Munich, 1936
Checkmate 8: Polish Championship, 1937
Checkmate 9: 7th Chess Olympiad, Stockholm, 1937
Checkmate 10: Publicity for local industries, Borstendorf, 1938-1941
Checkmate 464: 17th USSR Championship, 1940
Checkmate 12: 1st Championbship for the German Government in Poland, 1943
Checkmate 13: Groningen International Ch, 1946
Checkmate 13: Groningen International Ch, 1946 (red)
Checkmate 14: Chess Ch. for the USSR zone, Wessenfels, 1947
Checkmate 15: West German Ch, Weidenau, 1947
Checkmate 16: International Tournament, Stuttgard, 1947
Checkmate 17: Austrian Team Ch, Hartberg, 1947
Checkmate 18: 1st South Baden Ch, Endingen, 1947
Checkmate 19: "Chess Week," Schwabisch Hall, 1947
Checkmate 20: International Balkan Games, Sofia, 1947 (block of 12)
Checkmate 20: International Balkan Games, Sofia, 1947 (FDC)
Checkmate 20: International Balkan Games, Sofia, 1947 (registered)
Checkmate 21: 3v, USSR commemorating the World Championship Tournament, The Hague, 1948
Checkmate 22: International Tournament, Badgastein, 1948
Checkmate 22: As above, with red and green postmarks
Checkmate 23: 20th Czech Chess Congress, Bratislava, 1948
Checkmate 24: 2nd S Baden Chess Congress, 1948
Checkmate 25: West German Championship, Essen, 1948
Checkmate 26: Chess Match: Budapest v Moscow, 1949
Checkmate 27: International Tournament: Prum, West Germany, 1949
Checkmate 32: International Tournament: Dortmund, West Germany, 1951
Checkmate 33A: 30th Anniversary of the 1921 Capablanca-Lasker Match
Checkmate 33B: Special FDC postmark in blue
Checkmate 34: 19th USSR Ch. and Zonal Tournament, Moscow, 1951
Checkmate 35: Maroczy Memorial Tournament, Budapest, 1952
Checkmate 36: 4th International Tournament, Miedzyzdroje, 1952
Checkmate 38A: 10th Chess Olympiad, Helsinki, 1952
Checkmate 38B: Special FDC postmark, Helsinki, 1952
Checkmate 39: Women's Candidate's Tournament, Moscow, 1952
Checkmate 40: World Championship Match, Moscow, 1954
Checkmate 41: 3rd International Team Competition, Sirmone, Italy, 1954
Checkmate 42: Women's Zonal Tournament, Hercegnovi, 1954
Checkmate 43: 11th Chess Olympiad, Amsterdam, 1954
Checkmate 44: International Team Competition, Portoroz, 1954
Checkmate 45: USSR vs USA match, Moscow, 1955 (Autographed by Botvinnik)
Checkmate 47: Women's Candidates Tournament, Moscow, 1955
Checkmate 48AB: 1st World Championship for the Deaf, Zakopane, 1956
Checkmate 48C: Special postmark, Zakopane, 1956
Checkmate 48D: Special postmark, Warsaw, 1956
Checkmate 49: 5th International Tournament, Gardone, Italy, 1956
Checkmate 50B: 12th Chess Olympiad, Moscow, 1956
Checkmate 51: Alekhine Memorial, Moscow, 1956
Checkmate 52: National Open Sports Games, Bauru, 1956
Checkmate 53: Czech Championship, Podebrady, 1956
Checkmate 54: Postal Stationary Card, Gorky and Lenin playing chess, 1957
Checkmate 55: World Championship match, Botvinnik v Smyslov, 1957
Checkmate 56C: Chess Game with Living pieces, Marostica, 1957
Checkmate 57: 25th USSR Championship, 1958
Checkmate 57: registered cover
Checkmate 58: 13th Yugolslav Championship, Sarajevo, 1958
Checkmate 59: World Championship Match, Botvinnik v Smyslov, 1958
Checkmate 60A: 5th World Students Team Ch, Varna, 1958
Checkmate 60B: Special FDC postmark used in Sofia
Checkmate 61: Interzonal, Portoroz, 1958
Checkmate 62: 50th Anniversary of the death of Mikhail Tchigorin, USSR
Checkmate 63: FIDE Commission for Chess Compositions, Piran
Checkmate 64: International Tournament, Portoroz, 1958
Checkmate 65: 13th Chess Olympiad, Munich, 1958
Checkmate 66A: International Tournament, Tel Aviv, 1958
Checkmate 66B: Tel Aviv, machine cancel
Checkmate 68A: Candidates Tournament, Bled, 1959
Checkmate 68B: Candidates Tournament, Zagreb, 1959
Checkmate 68C: Candidates Tournament, Belgrade, 1959
Checkmate 69: 19th Russian Soviet Rep. Ch, Voronesch, 1959
Checkmate 70A: 27th USSR Ch, Leningrad, 1960
Checkmate 70B: as above, but in green
Checkmate 71: World Championship, Botvinnik v Tal, Moscow, 1960
Checkmate 72a: 20th Russian Rep Ch, Perm, 1960
Checkmate 72c: as above, last day in red
Checkmate 73: International Tournament, Buenos Aires, 1960
Checkmate 74: 7th World Students Team Ch, Leningrad, 1960
Checkmate 74 (red): as above, in red
Checkmate 76: Brazilian Ch, Brusque, 1960
Checkmate 77: 2nd World Ch for the Deaf, Portoroz, 1960
Checkmate 78A: 14th Chess Olympiad, Leipzip, 1960
Checkmate 78B: 14th Chess Olympiad, Leipzip, 1960
Checkmate 78C: 14th Chess Olympiad, Leipzip, 1960
Checkmate 78D: 14th Chess Olympiad, Berlin postmark, 1960
Checkmate 79A: 20th USSR Women's Ch, Riga, 1960
Checkmate 79B: Postmark for losing day
Checkmate 80: Zonal Tournament, Sao Paulo, 1960
Checkmate 81: World Championship, Tal v Botvinnik, 1961
Checkmate 82: 1st International Junior Ch, Lvov, 1961
Checkmate 83: Tchigorin Memorial, Rostov on Don, 1961
Checkmate 84: Publicity for local industries, Borstendorf, 1961-1966
Checkmate 86: 21st Russian Rep Ch, Omsk, 1961
Checkmate 87: Women's Candidates Tournament, Vrnjacka Banja, 1961
Checkmate 88A: 29 USSR Ch, Baku, 1961
Checkmate 88B: first day non postal marker
Checkmate 89: 21st USSR Women's Ch, Erevan, 1962
Checkmate 90AB: Candidates Tournament, Williamsted, 1962
Checkmate 91: USSR Masters Tournament, 1962
Checkmate 92: USSR v Yugoslavia, Lvov, 1962
Checkmate 93: 1st International Lightning Tournament, Seehausen, 1962
Checkmate 94: Cuban Sports Institute, 1962
Checkmate 95AE: 15th Chess Olympiad, Varna, 1962
Checkmate 95BD: imperforate with red postmark
Checkmate 95CD: Souvenir sheet with red postmark
Checkmate 95CE: Souvenir sheet with black postmark
Checkmate 96AB: 22nd USSR Women's Ch, Riga, 1962
Checkmate 97ABC: 30th USSR Ch, Erevan, 1962
Checkmate 98A: 15th Rumanian Ch, Bucharest, 1962
Checkmate 99A: Jose Rizal plays chess
Checkmate 99A: FDC
Checkmate 99B: with overprintt for presidential installation
Checkmate 99B: FDC
Checkmate 100AB: World CHampionship match, Moscow, 1963
Checkmate 100AC: as above, perforate
Checkmate 100B: imperforate
Checkmate 100C: perforate
Checkmate 101: 22nd Russian Cha, Tchelyabinsk, 1963
Checkmate 102: 7th Yugoslavia v USSR match, Rijeka, 1963
Checkmate 103: Zonal tournament, Halle, 1963
Checkmate 104: 7th Women's Championship, Slavonska Pozega, 1963
Checkmate 105: 2nd International Lightning ch, Oberwossen, 1963
Checkmate 106A: 2nd Women's Olympiad, Ljubljana, 1963
Checkmate 106B: postmark Sarajevo, 1963
Checkmate 106C: postmark Split, 1963
Checkmate 106D: postmark Split, 1963
Checkmate 108: 19th Yugoslavia Ch, Zenica, 1963