When you feel your opponent has missplayed the position or blundered, take some time to find the right continuation. These moments in a chess game are called "critical positions" and often the turning point of the game.
Studying Properly?
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That does make some sense, and I'll give it a try. Thank you very much!
Possibly of interest:
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1949)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233537/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review585.pdf
Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf
Seirawan stuff
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
How do you do it? As in, what are your goals when reviewing games or whatever else you do? I've yet to be able to get anything out of, for example, rote memorization of opening lines. I'm not sure how to find what principles you're supposed to be looking for that actually help. In that or watching games, it's learning what people do but not why.
Tactics and lessons on this site are cool, but it's hard to actually apply them to any of my games because in the various lesson scenarios I'm aware there is some answer and it's just a matter of finding it. But in an actual game, there's too much uncertainty there for me, as I'm not ever sure there even is a set of moves that can help me accomplish my hopes and dreams of winning. I do learn something from every one of the "lessons" (and appreciate the commentary and effort put into the in the ones that explain why some moves are better, and why some moves are bad) but they're often so situational I'm not sure how to actually use them.
It sort of turns into stumbling around until I encounter something where I actually do realize I have a good attack/defense in one of the niche positions I can actually remember from my 'studying'. It almost feels like just purposeless gambling in the early-to-mid-game, and obviously that doesn't work. I'm really not sure where to begin properly to try to actually improve.
Any thoughts or advice? I don't feel like I'm approaching this game correctly at all, but I'm not really sure where to change.