After you know the most basic things it's time to focus on one thing or another. IMO the 5 basic areas to choose from are (in no particular order): strategy, tactics, opening, endgame, annotated game collection
Although the order doesn't really matter I (and others) recommend you focus on openings as one of the last things (if not the last) you do.
Focusing on tactics first will give you the most rating increase vs time spent, but some will find it tedious. I see you're not very interested in consistency, but developing consistency and good calculation habits is worth a tremendous number of rating points in the beginning, and the way to start is choosing tactics.
Choosing an annotated game collection first can introduce you to a lot of ideas and can give you a good foundation to build on. Don't just run through moves quickly on your board, pause at interesting positions and decide for yourself which side you like better and why. What would your next move be? Then keep reading. The point isn't to be right or wrong, but to be engaged.
Strategy and endgames are also essential, and will improve your play in every phase even though they focus on one phase or set of ideas. For example if you're confident in your ability to win (or draw) a certain rook endgame, then during the middlegame part of your strategy can be to trade material into that endgame.
Here are my book recommendations:
Winning Chess Tactics by Seirawan (tactics)
Modern Chess Strategy by Pacman (strategy)
Masters of the Chessboard by Reti (annotated game collection)
Winning Chess Endgames by Seirawan (endgame)
I don't recommend books for openings. My advice for openings is to play a lot, review all your games with a database, and look at a lot of GM games... this means your opening prep is always a work in progress. Play a few games a day, look at a few GM games per day, use a database, and slowly build it up. There are many opening books that are low quality cash grabs, many that are far too in depth for beginners, and many that are incomplete or not up to date. In any case, as I said before, I also don't recommend you choosing openings first, so this shouldn't be a roadblock for now.
Hello -
I've been playing chess off an on for a couple of years now. I went to a local chess club for a year or so, have played many games in higher speed time controls, and a smaller number with classical times. I'm familiar with the rudiments of basic openings, tactics, and endgames.
I've been feeling stuck at my current ranks for a while. I know that if I never blundered then I might be able to climb to about 1000 or higher, but my actual skill as a player wouldn't be improving - just my consistency.
I really like having a physical book and board to learn from, not just chess.com lessons (though they are helpful!).
Does anyone have recommendations for books to help me get started at learning the game at a higher level? Strategy, Tactics, Pawn Structure, Endgames, what books were helpful to you, and what would you recommend I look into?