英国唯一的全女性国际象棋队伍She Plays to Win Lionesses A Team成功晋升到四国象棋联赛（4NCL）顶级联赛，但随即面临一项要求：必须在阵容中至少加入一名男性球员[1]。这一规定引发队员强烈反对，她们认为此举将破坏团队凝聚力，与推广女性象棋参与的初衷相悖。
根据4NCL的规则，顶级联赛12支球队均需至少配备一名男性和一名女性棋手[1]。这意味着She Plays to Win Lionesses A Team需要从8名顶级女性棋手中减少1人以容纳男性棋手[1]。队员Alisha Vyas对此表示，"作为She Plays to Win的一员很棒——我们每次都有团队聚餐，姑娘们之间有真正的团结感"[1]。另一位队员Emily Maton则指出："我们在逆境中证明了所有人都是错的——现在这项规则却破坏了这一切。"[1]
4NCL官方为该混性队伍要求进行了辩护，声称这一规则能促进女性参与象棋[1]。4NCL在调查中表示："我们在2025/2026赛季期间对所有球队队长进行了调查，询问是否应改变该规则；队长们普遍没有表现出改变的意愿。"[1]值得注意的是，象棋运动中女性参与度极低，在高排名棋手中仅约11%为女性[1]。
Britain's sole all-female competitive chess team has been thrust into controversy after achieving promotion to the top division of the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL), only to be informed that the squad must include at least one male player.[1]
She Plays to Win Lionesses A Team will be required to reduce its roster from eight top-ranking female players by one position to accommodate a male competitor.[1] The 4NCL's elite tier, comprising twelve clubs, enforces a mandatory mixed-gender composition rule mandating that all teams field at least one male and one female player.[1] Team members have expressed frustration with the requirement, arguing it contradicts the purpose of building an all-female squad and undermines their achievement. Alisha Vyas stated: "Being part of She Plays to Win is amazing – we have team dinners every time, and there's real camaraderie between the girls."[1] Fellow player Emily Maton added: "We got to the top proving everyone wrong – and now this undermines that."[1]
The 4NCL has defended the regulation, asserting that mixed-gender team compositions promote women's participation in chess, a field in which female representation remains exceptionally low—comprising approximately 11 percent of high-ranking players.[1] The league surveyed team captains during the 2025/2026 season regarding whether the rule should be reconsidered, and officials stated: "There was no significant appetite on the part of the captains to do so."[1] The organization has declined to modify the policy.