All-female chess team told they NEED male player to compete in promoted league

By GBNews

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Britain's only all-female chess team, She Plays To Win, has been promoted to the game's top division - only to be told they must recruit a male player to compete. League rules require every first division team to include at least one male and one female player, meaning one of the team's female players could lose her place. Speaking to GB News' Charlie Peters, players Alisha and Anusha said it was a "step backwards". Mike Truran, from The Four Nations Chess League, said: “We remain the only league in the UK that we are aware of that encourages female participation in chess by requiring mixed teams." “We surveyed all the team captains during the 2025/2026 season about whether the rule should be changed; there was no significant appetite on the part of the captains to do so. We remain open to changing the rule in future should captains’ opinions change. “There is no evidence that the rule as it stands discourages female participation in chess. #Chess #uknews #GBNews Keep up to da

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