Another component of the documentary John Cage : The Works for Piano 7, looks at Cage's mysterious and celebrated painting Chess Pieces. The piece was purchased for one hundred dollars at a group show and until recently was being kept in private hands. Cage scholars had begun to doubt the pieces' existence. In this brief film, Margaret Leng Tan, along with a professor, analyze the sixty-four square chess board painting.

After the piece was tracked down and acquired, various individuals started to ponder whether the musical composition written on the board is in fact a playable piece. Chess Pieces was made in 1944; a very productive year musically and the year that Cage divorced his wife. The composition is in 2:2 time with no key signature or specified tempo. There isn't even an indication of a specific intended instrument. Meaning, the piece could be played with different instruments and even by two differnt musicians at the same time, since the two parts behave individually.

After being taught by Marcel Duchamp, Cage later became an avid chess player. This piece was perhaps the begining of his fascination with the game. The musical composition corresponds in many ways to a chess game. The composition is layed out over top of a duo tone grey chess board, with the notes in contrasting color--either black or white. Becuase little information is provided about the speed of the song, the lenght is open to the players interpretation. It is a fascinating creation. A piece that can be played, and or played on. When the piece was once again displayed, viewers were invited to witness the painting and hear the music at the same time.