What do you think is the fastest way to improve your chess game?

Just looking for peoples thoughts on the fastest way to improve your chess game?

1.Study endgame

2.Lessons from a chess teacher

3.anlyzing games played against people with computer

4.analyzing games played against people with people

5.analyzing games played with computers against computers

6.studying grandmaster games

7.lessons on a chess software program

8.playing speed chess

9.playing lots of chess

 10.other

Those are some of the ideas I have come up with if you like one of them tell me which one you think would be better or state one that wasn't on here.

yes but I mean in general for all or almost all players.

Analyzing and annotating your own games, especially when you lose, by yourself. A close second would be comparing your analysis with a computer, opening book, endgame book, similar master games, and/or a stronger player. I think self-analysis is the most important thing because it highlights where you most need to focus.

Monday: Tactics

Tuesday: Opening Prep.

Wednesday: Combinational Studies (Long calculation problems)

Thursday: Endgame Study

Friday: Tactics

Saturday: Game analysis. (Go over any games you played throughout the week, if not then go over master class games)

Sunday: Go to Church and pray that you'll get better (Why not? It can't hurt). 

i dont study, get lessons, or analyze games

thats probably why im not that great though

By far my best way to learn is to lose. As long as you learn from your mistake and remember to use an alternative approach the next time you encounter the same situation, I think those are the best noticable improvements in my game.

 I don'twant to lose games. I want to win! then I can go around the chess club saying, "Want to see my game?"

Fundamentals, fundamentals fundamentals. In chess, we often bite off more than we can chew when it comes to study. Chess is not about brutally overpowering your opponent, but about capitalizing on your opponents weaknesses (not their mistakes, which is a common misconception). I have seen it in chess clubs when a player will play an opening 15 moves deep without flaw, but later in the game I see them miss a simple material sac to cash in their positional plusses. The point is, focus on the basics. The whole of chess is made of simple ideas. The most complex concepts may be composed of several of these base ideas, but they are still made of simple ideas. Chess isn't a video game. Grandmasters don't know some secret hidden moves that are unavailable to the rest of us. They just know their basics better. Keep up with sharpening your fundamentals until they are in rote memory, when they just 'happen'. It will take a lot of dedication to become a national or world class player, but just having the basics down pat and applying this knowledge will put you ahead of many more players than you may realize.

10.

Seeing lots of games quickly will not improve your game nearly as much as analyzing your games. After every game you play, think as deeply as you can about every move you played. Think about why you really played the move, why it worked, why it didn't, what better options you had, why those options are better, why your opponent played his move, why it worked, why it didn't, what better options he had, if he had chosen one of those options, would it have won, etc. Calculate variations!

Of course the fastest way is probably to take weekly lessons, but you might get burnt out that way. 

After understanding the basic opening principles, then I agree with this quote. I just started playing again after several years of inactivity. I realized quickly that I needed some help. After purchasing Chessmaster 10th Edition, which has a very good tutorial system, I've made the most progress reviewing chess tactics.

It is definitely to study tactics. Simple tactics, combinations and standard position types. Keep looking at basics, even though you think you know it already. Tal used to watch children's chess programs when he was a top player! You can't play without tactics. e.g. you expand (positionally) on the Queenside and get murdered by a six move combination. Great positional players are also great tacticians. They would see it coming and play a prophylactic move and then play the positional squeeze.

You get tactics in the opening, so your opening study gets easier.

You get tactics in end games, so your end game study gets easier.

And you may just see that snap mate you would have missed last week.

Studying tactics is the easiest way to improve quickly. Full stop.

Trying to come up with a single answer for how all players can improve isn't a good idea. Everyone has different weaknesses, and the key is to identify your own weaknesses and work on those areas.

That said, reviewing your games (especially the losses) afterwards to see how you could have played better is a good idea. Getting stronger players (or computer programs if that's all you have access to) to review the same games and see how much of your post mortem analysis they agree/disagree with is also a good idea. And focusing on tactics is never a bad idea.

But as I said, you need to identify your own weaknesses first. And that's part of why having stronger players review your games once in a while is essential - they might notice trends in your games that you might not notice on your own.

Play serious slow games against opponents slightly stronger than you.

what scarblac said.....but i like playing players waaaaaaaay better than me.

you learn w/ your eyes!

jmo

All good  (with the possible exception of "playing lots of speed chess")  but the thing to remember IMO is that its less important what you do than how you do it. Hard mental labor, really struggling with the material, whether it's a chapter in a book or an endgame study or the position in the game you happen to be playing, is the key to improvement IMO. 

I think that endgame study has done more for my game than any other single area of focus.