What is the best data-structure to represent a checkers board when speed is the primary concern?

Question

I am currently implementing something quite similar to checkers. So, I have this table game and there are both white and black pieces. Where there are neither white or black

Answer 1

First of all, it's worth noting that in checkers, half the squares on the boards can never be used, so you really only need an array of 32 items, not 64. Taking kings into account, you get possibilities from 0 to 4 instead of 0 to 2 (though when I did it, I found it easier to use -3 to +3 instead, so the values for red and black have the same magnitude and opposite signs).