Russian chess grandmaster Igor Kurnosov died in a road accident, local chess newspaper reported Thursday.

The 28-year-old Kurnosov and another pedestrian were hit by a car driven by a 20-year-old girl, according to The Chess News.

The accident happened in the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia's South Urals.

The grandmaster died at 2:45 local time (2045 GMT Thursday).

In the World Chess Federation (FIDE) official rankings, Kurnosov held the 89th position among all world chess players (84th among active players) and 22nd position among the Russian players (20th among the active players).

Kurnosov obtained his highest title in 2003, five years after he started to participate in official tournaments.

Kurnosov's latest achievement was the first place in an open tournament in Abu Dabi, UAE in July, where 48 players attended.