Pupils and parents making their battle moves yesterday at the Shenyang No. 3 Primary School in China's Liaoning province.

The clash took place over chessboards as competitors vied to checkmate their opponents' king.

The contest was part of the school's Open Day activities organised for the children and their families to study and play games together, reported China Daily.

Chess has been gaining a huge following in China in recent decades - quite a transformation for a game that was banned during the first years of the Cultural Revolution.

In fact, it is a required course at the Shenyang school, which is also known for training future professional chess players.

China is a serious power in international competitions these days, thanks to huge government support and numerous events organised for players to test their mettle.

China's women's chess team won silver medals at the Olympiad in 2010, 2012 and 2014, and the gold last year. The men's team won a gold at the 2014 Olympiad.