Story highlights Russian chess prodigy Yuri Eliseev has died after falling from a Moscow balcony

Eliseev, 20, was a regular practitioner of the extreme sport parkour

(CNN) A Russian chess grandmaster has died after plummeting from the 12th floor of a Moscow apartment block.

Chess prodigy Yuri Eliseev, 20, is reported to have lost his grasp on a balcony rail while apparently practicing parkour -- the extreme sports discipline where people leap and hurdle through urban environments -- and attempting to reach a neighbor's balcony.

"Tonight my close friend died - an outstanding chess player and analyst, one of the most talented people I know, Yura Yeliseyev," Daniil Dubov, another Russian chess prodigy wrote on Facebook in tribute to his friend.

"He was trying to climb from the window onto a balcony on the 12th floor but lost his grip."

Last year, Eliseev was crowned champion at the Moscow Open 2016 chess competition; he was previously awarded the coveted title of grandmaster in 2013, aged 17.

Yuri Eliseev, pictured, first started playing chess at school. He became world junior champion (under 16s) in 2012.

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