A young Russian chess champion has reportedly died after falling from a 12th floor balcony at an apartment block in Moscow.

Yuri Yeliseyev, 20, was said to have been trying to reach another balcony when he slipped according to the Russian Chess Federation and his friend Daniil Dubrov.

Dubrov wrote on his Facebook page: "Tonight my close friend died - an outstanding chess player and analyst, one of the most talented people I know, Yura Yeliseyev.

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

Yeliseyev, who was world junior chess champion in 2012 and a grandmaster at the age of 17, was a follower of parkour which involves climbing or leaping across fences, roofs, or other man-made obstacles.

Local Russian media quoting friends and a neighbour, said that he had previously climbed between the window and the balcony and was seen performing stunts during the summer.

National chess team coach, Sergei Yanovsky, told state news agency R-Sport that Yeliseyev was "bright and gifted and was very popular with the other members of the team".

Yeliseyev won this year's Moscow Open and was ranked 212th by the World Chess Federation.