Contributors:

The TMBG Early Years Handbook

Jonathan Chaffer

Benjamin Hauck

Pea Hicks

Matt Shapiro

The title Chess Piece Face comes from the nickname the Johns had for a guy They worked with at a record store when They were in high school. Just as many of Their other songs, the actual content of this song likely has very little to do with the man who inspired it.

One possible connection with the name Chess Piece Face is the paintings of the Surrealist artist René Magritte, who frequently had people in his paintings with chess pieces for heads.

This is a very obscure song, but some wordplay is evident: namely, the use of "defaced" to parallel with the name Chess Piece Face.