user11071: A situation that often seems to confuse me is when I push a pawn alongside two pawns that are head-to-head and my opponent pushes the opposing pawn, such as when Black plays c5 to my c4.
rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/4p3/2pp4/2PP1B2/8/PP2PPPP/RN1QKBNR w KQkq - 0 4

Suddenly, there are four moves to consider.

I play dxc5.
I play cxd5.
Black plays cxd4.
Black plays dxc5.

I find it challenging to quickly sort through the options and even understand whether I'm losing or gaining a pawn, let alone considerations like the resulting pawn structure. In this case, it looks like if I play cxd5, Black may end up with an isolated d pawn.
Are there any shorthand methods for quickly analyzing these two-pawns-facing-two-pawns situations to predict the outcome? Or, failing that, rules of thumb which lead to reasonable outcomes?

user18809: Since this is happenning so early in the game, the best idea is probably not to get involved in deep calculations, but rather to get some knowledge about the pawn structures that could arise from those trades (most notably, the isolated central pawn).
I see no particular gain from either 4.cxd5 (it'd liberate the c8 bishop) or 4.dxc5 (it'd speed up my opponent's development), so I'd continue with 4.e3, allowing me to retake with a pawn on d4 if Black attempts to take

11071: <p>A situation that often seems to confuse me is when I push a pawn alongside two pawns that are head-to-head and my opponent pushes the opposing pawn, such as when Black plays c5 to my c4.</p>
<pre><code>rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/4p3/2pp4/2PP1B2/8/PP2PPPP/RN1QKBNR w KQkq - 0 4
</code></pre>
<p>Suddenly, there are four moves to consider.</p>
<ol>
<li>I play dxc5.</li>
<li>I play cxd5.</li>
<li>Black plays cxd4.</li>
<li>Black plays dxc5.</li>
</ol>
<p>I find it challenging to quickly sort through the options and even understand whether I'm losing or gaining a pawn, let alone considerations like the resulting pawn structure. In this case, it looks like if I play cxd5, Black may end up with an isolated d pawn.</p>
<p>Are there any shorthand methods for quickly analyzing these two-pawns-facing-two-pawns situations to predict the outcome? Or, failing that, rules of thumb which lead to reasonable outcomes?</p>
 18809: <p>Since this is happenning so early in the game, the best idea is probably not to get involved in deep calculations, but rather to get some knowledge about the pawn structures that could arise from those trades (most notably, the isolated central pawn).</p>
<p>I see no particular gain from either <strong>4.cxd5</strong> (it'd liberate the c8 bishop) or <strong>4.dxc5</strong> (it'd speed up my opponent's development), so I'd continue with <strong>4.e3</strong>, allowing me to retake with a pawn on d4 if Black attempts to take</p>
