I was told this crap of "only do tactics puzzles", which is terrible advice.
In order to become better you need to study all parts of the game. And as every game starts with the opening you should study it. Otherwise you will get crushed in the same fashion again and again. Playing white you can do some shortcuts and get playable positions but with black it is impossible.
Yes, I believe the Lucena was what he meant.
Though I do remember him saying "Philidor", because I went home and looked it up afterward.
Maybe he was able to reach a Philidor, but you could have prevented it.
Oh, and I remember being annoyed at @reb many years ago for arguing that endgames don't happen every game... what a ridiculous point to make...
A good understanding the endgame informs your middlegame choices... it improves your middlegame strategy. Knowing how to play lots of rook endgames (for example) is relevant long before any rook endgame appears.
If you play openings that are IMO not respectable i.e. either one player or the other is completely winning by move 15, then sure, none of that matters... but that's not a serious way to play chess IMO.
But to reb's point (made 10 years ago lol) I will admit the most critical moves of a game often happen between moves, let's say 15 to 25 i.e. often an advantage appears for one player or another during the early mid-game so putting a lot of effort into understanding the mid-game ideas associated with your opening is very important.
Bro, no one below 2000 thinks like this. This idea of guiding your middlegame into endgame play just isnt something club players do. That is a a master level skill. Club players want playable middlegame positions with chances.
sure, you can sometimes, get a naive player to walk into a lost ruy lopez exchange pawn ending, or you get an easy game as black when inflicting the nimzo indian pawn damage. But by in large, club players arent thinking how each piece organically contributes to the endgame. We are not Capa.
I got to 1900 with extremely little endgame knowledge.. learn middlegame
@ the OP
Look at your games and be honest in your self assessment... what is the most common reason you lose? Rarely does anyone lose (or fail to win) because they didn't memorize enough in the opening. Of course it happens a few times out of 100 games, but it's not common.
I agree. It really depends on the player on what lesson he needed based on his games.
"To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom." - Socrates
In my first OTB tournament (decades ago), I was an aggressive intermediate player with strong opening knowledge, but very weak endgame knowledge.
I outplayed my opponent in one of the rounds, to the point where we reached an endgame with me up a clean pawn: KPR v. KR.
I delivered check after check, trying to find a mating net. In the final position, my opponent happily secured the draw.
Afterward, he told me he was surprised I didn't know how to win from that position. He told me it was the "Philidor's position", and that there was an easy win, if I knew the technique.
That was the day I realized that opening knowledge isn't everything - endgame knowledge is a thing, too - something which I didn't clearly have.
That's a great story. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Oh, and I remember being annoyed at @reb many years ago for arguing that endgames don't happen every game... what a ridiculous point to make...
A good understanding the endgame informs your middlegame choices... it improves your middlegame strategy. Knowing how to play lots of rook endgames (for example) is relevant long before any rook endgame appears.
If you play openings that are IMO not respectable i.e. either one player or the other is completely winning by move 15, then sure, none of that matters... but that's not a serious way to play chess IMO.
But to reb's point (made 10 years ago lol) I will admit the most critical moves of a game often happen between moves, let's say 15 to 25 i.e. often an advantage appears for one player or another during the early mid-game so putting a lot of effort into understanding the mid-game ideas associated with your opening is very important.
Bro, no one below 2000 thinks like this. This idea of guiding your middlegame into endgame play just isnt something club players do. That is a a master level skill. Club players want playable middlegame positions with chances.
I'm a club player and my opponents are club players.
We do this.
Oh, and I remember being annoyed at @reb many years ago for arguing that endgames don't happen every game... what a ridiculous point to make...
A good understanding the endgame informs your middlegame choices... it improves your middlegame strategy. Knowing how to play lots of rook endgames (for example) is relevant long before any rook endgame appears.
If you play openings that are IMO not respectable i.e. either one player or the other is completely winning by move 15, then sure, none of that matters... but that's not a serious way to play chess IMO.
But to reb's point (made 10 years ago lol) I will admit the most critical moves of a game often happen between moves, let's say 15 to 25 i.e. often an advantage appears for one player or another during the early mid-game so putting a lot of effort into understanding the mid-game ideas associated with your opening is very important.
Bro, no one below 2000 thinks like this. This idea of guiding your middlegame into endgame play just isnt something club players do. That is a a master level skill. Club players want playable middlegame positions with chances.
I'm a club player and my opponents are club players.
We do this.
sure you do, because you didnt punish your opponents 5 last mistakes 
Yes, I believe the Lucena was what he meant.
Though I do remember him saying "Philidor", because I went home and looked it up afterward.