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A young chess prodigy has fallen to his death fell to his death in a parkour accident while jumping between high-rise building balconies.

Former world under 16 chess champion Yuri Eliseev, 20, died last night after plummeting from the 12th floor of his apartment building in Moscow, Russia.

Parkour is a dangerous acrobatic discipline which involves climbing and jumping between structures in urban settings like action film stars in the style of a military obstacle training court.

Eliseev, who was given grandmaster status at the age of 17, has been known as a fan of the sports, Sport Express reports.

(Image: Rex)

Russian chess coach Mikhail Kobalia told the website: "It is a shock, a young talented grandmaster, who was now at such a rise.

The coach said he was a "very distinctive" chess player

"Yuri in chess, and in life, was his way, and he did not depart from it."

Daniil Dubov, a close friend, wrote about the death on his Facebook page.

"That night was tragically killed a close friend, a brilliant chess player and an analyst, one of the most talented people I know," a translation says.