create unbalances and try to work on them
What makes a great player great?
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Do you mean, for instance, how is a 2800 player better than a 2700 player? The differences are only subtle. Basically the 2700 player is likely to play a few more inaccuricies over the course of a game, and these may eventually accumulate to some advantage for the 2800. From there the 2800 can keep applying pressure, trying to induce more and more inaccuricies... basically they are trying to take a small advantage, and by more consistently playing good moves, have it keep growing over time. And even then that may not be quite enough to do better than draw the 2700, but in the long run the 2800 will beat the 2700 more often than the other way around.
A lot of wins are just grinded out at GM level. Here are a few articles about this:
IM Bryan Smith:
http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-engames-of-tromsoslash-part-1
IM Daniel Tapia:
http://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-world-cup-2013-war-of-attrition
both use games from this year's world cup, as there are lots of encounters between higher and lower rated players.
I think grinding a weaker opponent can also be applied to lower levels, although the mistakes are obviously much more common and larger (for both players, but of course more so for the weaker player).
Consistency: the only thing preventing potentialy strong players from getting a better performance.
I'd like to add in that innovation and understanding of positions that can possibly be advantageous for a player. Because as everybody here has stated, some games are completely ground out and a small advantage grows into a winning tempo (i.e. the king being there to protect the passed pawn as it queens one move before it's blocked by the enemy king), or, some are complete blowouts.. But, what probably sets the greats from the verygood, but not greats, is a better overall understanding of balances, imbalances, and an ability to look at a game, and see a better endgame (if it's one of those grind-out games).
Theres a reason that no one under 2600 has even the slightest chance to beat the top 10 in the world or even draw with them for that matter but im just not understanding how they are they so good at chess?
Like okay im rated 400 points over my friend who is the 2nd best at my school but the thing is...i cant just knock him straight off the board nor can i just systematically take him down?
If my opponent does blunder tactically and he does alright positionally, then well how do you beat him? How do super gm's just always thrash lower rated players? I mean theres no always a tactic around that wins a rook and you some times completely constrain your opponent so much as to not let him past the third rank?
So how are these super GM's so good? Are they just genuis calculators (im sure thats part of it), are they just opening experts who know how to completely punish the crap out of you if you make a slight slight inaccuracy? are they just more forcing?
I just dont understand? I mean some times the opening is just solid for both sides ( even a 1400 can be totally solid) and from there on some times there arent always killer tactics and if he controls the key squares of the board then how do super GM's just time and time again win against lower rated players?