Edited by:
$('form').submit(function(e){
var fields = new Array();
$(':input:checkbox[name*=fields]', this).each(function() {
index_a = $(this).attr('name');
if (fields[index_a] == undefined) fields[index_a] = 0;
if ($(this).is(':checked')) fields[index_a] += 1;
});
return false;
});
http://jsfiddle.net/daybreaker/7UFs6/3
This will return an array fieldswith keys for each fields[whatever]and a value equal to the number of check marks in each field[whatever].
jsfiddle fields[opt1] fields[opt2], , , , . , , opt1 .