Advice for Chess Improvement

Where to start? (for complete beginners through those rated under 1200 USCF or 1500 online)

IM David Pruess, "How to Become a Chess Player | Dojo Chess Guide"

Tactics!

1. IM David Pruess
   1. "How to Learn Tactics 1"
   2. "How to Learn Tactics 2"
      
2. GM Eugene Perelshteyn, "5 Grandmaster Tips To Improve Your Tactics"

Addressing Misconceptions

Learning openings

• GM Ben Finegold, "Ben Explains Why Openings Don't Matter"
  • GM Hikaru Nakamura [five-time U.S. champion], "Opening Moves Don't Matter Against 2000 Rated Players | Garbage Opening Speedrun Part 8"
• "[How does one get better at chess?] I would not get into openings! The mastery of middlegame plans is a much better way to spend your study time. Of course, the B players [1600-1799 USCF rating] will say, 'I've got to study the openings so I can get safely out of this phase without losing the game right away.' I can understand this sentiment but it is incorrect! The middlegame teaches you the concept of the opening." (GM Yasser Seirawan)

Using engines

• "Should You Use the Engine When Analyzing Your Games? | Dojo Talks"

Buying chess books

• "It would be a good thing to buy books if one could also buy the time to read them; but one usually confuses the purchase of books with the acquisition of their contents" (Arthur Schopenhauer, "On Books and Reading")
  

Play and analyze your games

"By strictly observing Botvinnik’s rule regarding the thorough analysis of one’s own games, with the years I have come to realize that this provides the foundation for the continuous development of chess mastery" (GM Gary Kasparov)

Study master games

According to GM Magnus Carlsen (current world champion), "learn from the old masters". Classic games are more straightforward and furnish the essential tactical and positional ingredients for chess improvement. See "Classic Games to Know" for some quality games.

1. IM Silman, "The Point of Studying Master Games, Part One"
2. IM Silman, "The Point of Studying Master Games, Part Two"
   
3. IM Silman, "The Point of Studying Master Games, Part Three"
   

Interesting YouTube Series from GM Naroditsky

1. "A Grandmaster Plays a Beginner | Chess Mastery Explained"
   
2. "A Grandmaster Plays a Beginner Pt. 2 | Chess Mastery Explained"