Most effective way to improve at chess

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SzachowyWariat

Hello guys,

I'm pretty mediocre chess player with about 1500 at rapid games (which means basically nothing). I know there are website like chessable where I can grind opening over and over with every detail and milions of variations. Also I wouldn't describe myself as someone who is missing a lot of tactics (however I'm ussing lichess to practice them).

So after this introduction. What should I focus at? I believe there is no point to grind opening which could grant me something like +1/2 in evaluation which I would lose after midgame.

Shall I focus on like 1 opening for white, 1 for black and just keep practicing? Like puzzles and playing rated games? My goal is to get about to 1800.

I feel stuck because I'm not as bad to blunder often, but also not as good to prepare very good strategical position/attack.

RAU4ever

Good question! Presuming a rating of 1300-1700 I think you should focus on understanding the middlegame and improving your tactics. Yes, you and your opponents blunder less often, but still often enough that you'll get at least 1 chance to win material. Tactics still decide games. However, you do need to start to know what to do when there are no tactics available. That's why studying middlegame strategy will help you a lot. I really like How to Reasses your Chess by Silman for this purpose, even though I'd leave the dynamic play until you're stronger. It is also worth it to learn a little bit about pawn endings. 

Don't worry about learning an opening. Rather focus on opening principles and getting them as crisp as possible. Every move needs to count. No playing the same piece twice. Etc. Be critical when you look over your own games and ask whether you really needed to play that move, especially if you find out later that you'd have liked one of your pieces to have been on a different square. 

CausalityD

Actually play regularly an review your games along with studying puzzles or tactics that's what I usually here. Play longer games so that you can actually use learned tactics you have calculated in game... Synapse of free advice I've picked up from Chess.com

tygxc

#1
"What should I focus at?"
++ Focus on tactics. "Chess is 99% tactics" - Teichmann
Solve 4 tactics puzzles as a warm-up before you play.
Play a 15|10 rapid game and take your time: 40 s / move to start, 10 s / move to finish. Whenever you lose a game, analyse it to learn from your mistakes.
Study annotated grandmaster games.

"Shall I focus on like 1 opening for white, 1 for black and just keep practicing?"
Pick a defence for black against 1 e4, e.g. 1...e5 and a defence for black against 1 d4 e.g. 1...d5 and an opening for white e.g. 1 e4 and play the same all to time to accumulate experience.