On Sat, 12 Jun 2010 21:43:36 +0000, root ǝʇoɹʍ:

New motherboards often have a small fan covering one of the bridge
chips. Likewise, expensive graphics cards have a fan on their processor.
These fans are cheaply made.

Is there protection for the MB/card to keep their chips from frying if
the tiny little fan fails?

No.