opening knowledge isnt all that important unless your at a very high level. As long as you understand that you need a plan/plans and every move needs to help achive that plan your fine in your opening. Tactics, in my mind, is the most important. Studing tactics has improved my chess alot, and its alot more intersting (opinion of course)

Chess is 99% tactics ... and yet only important to 71% percent of people if this survey means anything :P.

I think tactical vision,which I unfortunately totally lack:)

I used to think openings, and this is probably correct at GM level but I now think that for the rest of us its probably endgame more than anything else. Obviously they are all important but I have recently found that it dos'nt matter if you get a slight advantage or disadvantage from the opening, if you can't convert a simple pawn endgame it dos'nt matter, and from what I have seen of peoples endings they tend to be very poor. Tactics and postional play are obviously very important too but they are more of a style and it depends how you like to play. Tme management I feel is also about your style of play, some people like being in time trouble and play better and some don't.

its plan strategy and tactics.

You all have it wrong, ( according to me), the right answer is

1.Opening  -a bad opening will affect the entire game: makes you a lot more prone  to lose pieces, not be able to defend(castle) your king, and makes you not able to effectively attack. It's the sole most important thing, if you screw up in the opening, you'll have to play with a disadvantage the rest of the game. And sort of how it's easy to make money when you have a lot of money, the more pieces you win, the more you will be able to eat.

 2. Positional  and tactical play mean almost the same to me. Those are really important as it's basically what you need to do to win. Helps you out across the whole game.

Opening knowledge is better because if you get your opening right, you'll have that part perfect, and the more the game will progress, the more it will profit you. Someone may be a genius, but if he ( purposely or not) screws up his opening,  his chess skills will not be able to be exploited during the game.

PS: time management only important in blitzes or quick games, so not so important.

1. Tactics 2.Strategy/Position 3.Endgame 4.Opening 5.Clock/Time

There are thousands of opening variations.  You can't just blindly follow book moves without getting used to tactics first, especially when your opponent gets you 'out of book'.  You may memorise up to the 25th opening move but if you don't know how to proceed...so there goes strategical thinking.  Tactical options are not always available so you outplay your opponent strategically to create tactical possibilities.  Pattern recognition is a must here in the middlegame.  Then the endgame.  Failure to master the endgame will lose you hundreds of games.  Endgame mastery is built on tactical and positional foundations.  Then the Openings...I won't discuss it here it's too lengthy.  Fifth, time management.  Blitz chess will help you calculate positions faster.  Getting familiar with the Opening will save you time - reserve your energy calculating variations later in the middlegame and endgame.

I think that Tactical is the most important at the beggining, then endgame, strategies and now, the openings. It's most usefull for me study this way.
=]

I feel they are all important as each other, to rely on one more then the other is a mistake. Like most things start with a good foundation and build from that each part being supported by each other.

I did opening because if you dont get your opening right then you wont reach the endgame, you won't have time to use tactics and also you can't position your p;ices

Opening knowledge.

You can have all the opening,endgame, and postional knowledge but TACTICS is the foundation for strong chess.  

Chess is tactics.  Even strategic ideas require tactics to achieve.