It definitely is the least important. With a decent midgame and endgame, you can overcome a lack of a good opening. Like the saying goes : its not how you start, but how you finish.
Is the opening the least important part of the game?
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Jun 2, 2018
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#3
this one is very hard to answer. unlike the endgame you always have an opening and your ability to survive it alright determines the pace of the rest of the game. on the other hand certain openings are more forgiving to not knowing precise lines than others. how important it is is partially determine by what you play and how you play it. especially with black.
"... Review each of your games, identifying opening (and other) mistakes with the goal of not repeatedly making the same mistake. ... It is especially critical not to continually fall into opening traps – or even lines that result in difficult positions ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627062646/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman81.pdf
"... This book is the first volume in a series of manuals designed for players who are building the foundations of their chess knowledge. The reader will receive the necessary basic knowledge in six areas of the game - tactcs, positional play, strategy, the calculation of variations, the opening and the endgame. ... To make the book entertaining and varied, I have mixed up these different areas, ..." - GM Artur Yusupov