It's a mission impossible to discuss this issue in less then 5000 words because there are many concepts and training ideas that a player can try. The most widely accepted piece of advice is that, first of all, one should focus on improving their tactical skills. This can be done here on chess.com as well by using tactics trainer, but there are countless excellent books too for this purpose. Also considerable is that one should play a lot of live or OTB games. The idea behind this is that if you make the same mistake for the third or fourth time you will remember it and won't commit it again. After practising tactics the next step is strategy, which contains the subtopic of opening theory. A very important fact that memorizing the moves only does not lead anywhere, you need to know the positional idea behind those moves. When you decide to learn new opening, keep this in mind. Finally, there are several concepts of the game which can be improved via practising, such as foresight, calculation, planning, attacking instincts, style and personality of play in conjunction with your own opening repertoire.
practice
Trying new openings is wrong.It's not openings what you need it's middlegame and endgame.Find simple openings based in understanding and focus your study on what matters (middlegame and endgame).Find good books , even if they are difficult books.Looking for the easy solutions won't help you.If you say you are a hard worker , find Pachman's 3 books , Complete Chess Strategy.In there is what you need to know for now.Read them again and again.Find also Keres book "Practical chess endings",read it again and again.In my chess club I have seen people becoming A-class from nothing in just 2 years with these 4 books only.
Play long time games(for live) analyse them , find your mistakes.Every game you play must be a chance to be better but it won't be if you don't know why you won or why you lost.
Chess is a simple game with simple rules and one of them is known for years:
"You want serious results?Do serious study"
Thank you gentlemen,
I greatly appreciate your advice. Keldorn and Michale-G I am going to continue my studies and hopefully continue to improve my game. Michale I agree 100 percent that tactics is where my focus should be, I use the tactics trainer daily and enjoy the mid/end game more than opening (mostly because I don't yet understand the theory behind it lol). If you have any further advice please feel free to let me know. Again, much thanks gentlemen.
First , the quote "chess is 99% tactics" is a nonsense(Karpov said it, not me).
Chess for beginners is 49% middle game , 49% endgame and 2% opening.That is how your study should go.If you don't like numbers , minimum opening study , focus on middle game and endgame.
The word "tactics" is completely misunderstood.To protect a piece that is threatened is not "tactic" it is common sense,it is survival.It's like breathing , if you don't know how to do it , you die.If you know how to do it doesn't mean you are ready to be a champion athlete.Just means that you will continue living .
Not to hang pieces and defend the one move threats is something you must learn to do and not expect it from any tactics trainer.Tactics trainer will help mostly in most complicated 2 and 3 move threats/combinations.If you can't understand, that when your queen is threatened you must protect her , your improvement will be painfully slow and tactics trainer can't offer you anything to that.
Chess is not only 99% tactics , our mind is only focusing on tactics and we think it's 99% tactics.Yes at your level tactics and "hanging" will determine all your games.But winning is not the issue.The issue is understanding .With understanding comes creativity , inspiration , imagination and eventually the game becomes even fun( rarely
).
Are we talking for the next few months or for the next years?If we are talking for the next few months then tactics trainer is enough.If we try to see further into the future you need everything , even opening but in different quantities.
Like an infant , at his first days needs milk , later more solid food , eventually less milk."Milk" for the beginner chess player is not only tactics.It's also basic middle game and endgame knowledge.Because later when your opponents won't "blunder", knowing how to plan and how to position your pieces will be the only one that can help you not only "survive" but also improve.And as you understand what kind of "milk" an "infant" will drink ,will determine how healthy teenager and adult he/she will become.You need the best(everyone does) and not the easiest.The books I suggested to you are the suggestions of the greatest teacher ever appeared , Mikhail Botvinik.This is the best "milk" for every beginner.
Many will say that chess has changed since Botvinik's days but who really can claim that he knows chess better than him?Does things have changed so much that we must consider Botvinik inadequate?Things have not changed , what has changed is that we try to find the easy solution.We try to learn from chess "novels" not from chess books and , I know that will create a storm of objections, especially Americans do that. Below average players are considered Great Teachers of the new Era.
My only and clear advise is listen , not to me , but to the one that knew chess more than all these will ever do even if they live a thousand years.
p.s. Feel free to message me if you have any questions ,I don't charge (except 1000 dollars you must donate on my foundation for the homeless 
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Hey guys, I am new to the club and fairly new to chess. I am wondering how one goes about practicing? I am a pretty hard worker and have been playing the computer and trying new openings but I am courious if anyone has any advice on improving game play. Thanks for your help.