I'm 1450 but I think I play terribly for my rating

Does anyone else feel this way?

I play terrible openings (Danish Gambit, Scandinavian, Englund Hartlaub-Charlick Gambit, Von Hennig Gambit and other made up stuff) and I rarely seem to know what I'm doing in the middle game. I also routinely mess up K+Q and K+R end games. I just don't feel like I'm as good as my opponents and I'm not sure how I've made it to this rating.

Is there a time when I'll feel like I'm playing proper chess.

You are too hard on yourself. Your record shows that you have played an awful lot of chess in the last year and have had very good results-- raising your rating by 800+ points after 4500+ rapid games in only 9 months.

There must be times when you have played a nice combination or found a mate in two/three/four that are satisfying.

It looks like your highest rated victory was only against a 1545. That is surprising to me since your rating is already 1452. Perhaps you should change the parameters used for seeking games so that you occasionally get to face significantly higher rated players. Or play one of the swiss tournaments. With a few victories, you would get to try much higher rated players.

Trying out unique openings can be enjoyable, but it might be helpful to pick more common openings. These well-known openings can give you a strong base and teach you about the usual strategies and patterns linked to them.

I feel the same way MathTeacherChessLearner.. I have the opposite problem when it comes to openings, I play common openings but most of the time I get myself into trouble quick or just make a lot of good or inaccurate moves that really don't help my position. I've managed to get to 1200 but I don't really know if progression is possible if I don't fix my abysmal middle game tactics. If I could give any advice, even though I'm lower rated, maybe look for a chess club in your area to practice otb play working on middle and end games, and pick the brains of the other players. Also there are some good books middle and end game tactical ideas.

@1

"I play terrible openings" ++ Why?

"Danish Gambit" ++ Bad
"Scandinavian" ++ Good
"Englund Hartlaub-Charlick Gambit" ++ Bad
"Von Hennig Gambit" ++ OK

"I rarely seem to know what I'm doing in the middle game" ++ Think

"I also routinely mess up K+Q and K+R end games" ++ Study that.

"how I've made it to this rating" ++ Your opponents have their own flaws.

"Is there a time when I'll feel like I'm playing proper chess."
++ Study your lost games and learn from your mistakes.

your issues are:

• You try too hard to give up pawns (for whatever reason)
• You often cant convert a development advantage well
• You dont calculate far enough/make simple mistakes
• you dont know your opening well enough