I am having this exact same problem. Seems like when there is very little contrast, Chrome tries to "solve the problem".
After much gnashing of teeth, I found that adding:
image-rendering: -webkit-optimize-contrast; /* Chrome (and Safari) */
to the problem element's css solved the problem.
Also, see this post: https://superuser.com/questions/530317/how-to-prevent-chrome-from-blurring-small-images-when-zoomed-in which deals with a similar problem.