Fits The Challenge-Yes
Composition-Lovely
Background-Good..very good
My Opinion-Tones and DOF make this shot for me. Really done well. Love the contast of the squares. The light is nice and works for me. Good job. Congrast on your new F717. It's the hot camera. Not much to add here. Sorry Doug. I think it's about as good as can be.
This is very tangential to the challenge. The chess board could suggest a form of measurement, but only if I use my imagination.... The colours are nice, and I like the shallow DOF, but this is a highly cliche photo (an egg and a chess board!) without a strong impact in its own right.
The contrast between the roundness of the ball and the squares does indeed suggest pi to me, though the title seems to not match the image. I love the tones and lighting of this shot, too. Nice work.