What about opening choice? is it irrelevant? or any sound opening would do? cuz i don't think the choice is random, it really depends on one's style, and strengths. otherwise you're right, chess strength is strength in all aspects.
Positional or tactical?
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I dont think its purely "either/or"...you will have some elements of tactical play and some positional
I dont think id worry about it yet (or ever, lol.) Just keep learning and getting better and let the style worry about itself
After a while you will learn what type of games you like. Some guys like more static positions where things are under control and they get their little pet endgame etc. Other guys like wilder more complicated positions where pieces are hanging etc. After you start to learn what type of game you like, you can start to choose openings that lead to that type of game
If you are a positional player, who prefer to avoid complicated lines, and you prefer to have a solid position, you need to know tactics too, cause if you don't, how can you find the threats and avoid them?
Same with a tactic player, without a positional understading how can your tactics be really useful?
Style is a choice you have when the position offers choices (most part of the time in the Opening and middle-game). You can make an agressive move (maybe a little risky) if you feel confortable with dynamic positions, or you can setup a solid position and slowly start improving it by getting little advantages if you feel confortable with static positions.
Overall I'd say I'm pretty tactical but still study positional elements since you have to know what to plan around when things are quiet. Study both tactics and positional chess.
Sometimes the lines blur such as an exchange sacrifice motivated by positional factors (bishop without a counterpart, darksquare weaknesses, etc.)
A personal example of mine:
nice exchange sacrifice, i would not think about it even in long time controls. but it feels llike you've prepared the exchange from the opening, is it an opening preparation? anyway, you say that you are more tactical and yet you chose the catalan which i think is more positional.
First, study tactics and then strategy.
It usually work that way.
I am bad in either but since I'm even worse in tactical I'd say I'm positional. :o
it is often said that, for a player to improve, he has to know which type of player he is, in order to chose which set of openings he should use. in my case i can't decide, most likely because i'm weak in both aspects, lol. And i still don't have an opening repertoire. so how can i know which type suits me? or is it still early to decide?