# Alphanumeric grid

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a b c d e f 1 a1 b1 c1 d1 e1 f1 2 a2 b2 c2 d2 e2 f2 3 a3 b3 c3 d3 e3 f3 4 a4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 5 a5 b5 c5 d5 e5 f5 6 a6 b6 c6 d6 e6 f6

Example of an Alphanumeric board

An **alphanumeric grid** (also known as **atlas grid**[1]) is a simple [coordinate system](/source/Coordinate_system) on a [grid](/source/Grid_(spatial_index)) in which each cell is identified by a combination of a letter and a number.[2]

An advantage over numeric coordinates such as [easting and northing](/source/Easting_and_northing), which use two numbers instead of a number and a letter to refer to a grid cell, is that there can be no confusion over which coordinate refers to which direction. As an easy example, one could think about [battleship](/source/Battleship_(game)); simply match the number at the top to the number on the bottom, then follow the two lines until they meet in a spot.

[Algebraic chess notation](/source/Algebraic_chess_notation) uses an alphanumeric grid to refer to the squares of a [chessboard](/source/Chessboard).[3]

Some kinds of [geocode](/source/Geocode) also use letters and numbers, typically several of each in order to specify many more locations over much larger regions.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Atlas grid"](http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/atlas+grid). *encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com*. Retrieved 2010-03-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Archived copy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071010070525/http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.gisDictionary.search). Archived from [the original](http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa%3Dknowledgebase.gisDictionary.search%26search%3Dtrue%26searchTerm%3Dalphanumeric+grid) on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2010-03-22.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_archived_copy_as_title)) Retrieved 2010-03-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [http://www.fide.com/fide/handbook?id=125&view=article](http://www.fide.com/fide/handbook?id=125&view=article) *Appendices* in [World Chess Federation](/source/FIDE) Handbook: see part *C.7* of section *C. Algebraic notation*. Retrieved 2010-03-22.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alphanumeric grid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphanumeric_grid) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphanumeric_grid?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.