Best advice I've heard on this topic, and I forget who said it, "play lots of correspondence games with opening book allowed." Make it possible to play through variations as much as possible.
I feel your pain on this topic, myself. My time in tournaments was always made less fun by those genius kids who could memorize entire opening lines. I could hold my own in middle and end-games, but those guys always beat me.
Hello,
There is an awesome book called The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings by Reuben Fine. It is an oldie but a goodie. That way, no matter what opening you choose, you've got something behind the principles that get you to the middle and end game where you said you are stronger.
Also I do well with the "Starting Out" series.
Good Luck
Good suggestions, both. I played a few games of correspondence some 15 years ago. My patience wore kind of thin on it. But perhaps now, it might do the trick. As for the Reuben Fine book, it is a very, very good book. I bought it, read it, and - unfortunately - sold it. Might have to get another copy. If I remember right, Fine would have me playing mainline QG or Ruy Lopez, however.
Thx for the inputs, fellow chess.com'ers
Surprisingly openings do not matter to much. All you truly need to increase your level of play is some tactics and endgame study. A very very good way to learn tactics is to get a book full of problems (like 303 tricky tactics) and spend 30 minutes of each day working your way through it. Once you make it through, go over it again, although this time you should be able to do it much more quickly. Keep trying to work down the time it takes for you to go through the book and soon the various tactical patterns and ideas will be ingrained in your mind. This will allow you to see such moves and possiblities in your games lightning fast.
As for the strategical side of the middlegame I would suggest the amateurs mind and other books written by Silman. Reading his endgame book will also do wonders to improve your play.
I'm a bit surprised when you say you lack memory to play openings at the class C level, because you shouldn't need very detailed opening knowledge at this stage, even to play gambits or agressive openings schemes.
What you do need, however, is a good understanding of where the pieces belong and some typical ideas you can learn from master games.
For example, let's consider the King's gambit. I think you can't go too far wrong if you play according to the basic ideas of this opening :
- try to conquer the center by pushing d4 (after black plays exf4), or put pressure on e5 (if black doesn't play exf4) - then take care of your center
- aim your pieces at f7 (Bc4 - 0-0)
- if black plays g5, try to break the pawn chain by pushing h4, or g3 at some stage
- try to launch an attack before black completes his development and castles
Then you'll learn specifics by analyzing your own games : you'll remember better if you have been actively involved in the learning process (ie. by playing).
Now, you can learn some nice ideas by going through some master games. However the way to do it is not to try and memorize the game, not even the opening stage, but to try and learn some typical ideas you could re-use in your games (a couple for each game will do). Here is an example with a King's gambit game :
Hope that helps ! Cheers 
Oh ! and by all means, play what you enjoy : if you fancy aggressive openings, go play them - mistakes are not that important (we all make mistakes in chess) : what is important is to have fun !
Thanks for the great suggestions, fellow chess.com'ers. Your words are encouraging. I do like the notion of 'playing what you enjoy' as well. Since my livelihood depends not on my chess skill, having fun should be the strongest motivation. I tell everyone ELSE that, but sometimes forget it myself.
Very nice game hicetnunc
So, here's my dilemma:
I've played chess for a very long time. My skill level (at least with the effort I've placed on learning) has settled out in the low Class C level (1400+). Over the years, I've played many different openings and built several repertoires, some of which I enjoyed playing, others were less fun. The heart of my dilemma is this: I have never had a very good memory, and with age even that memory seems weaker than it used to be. So, I have gradually resorted to choosing opening systems with as few forcing lines as possible (e.g., Nimzo-Larsen, Colle, KIA, Owens/English, etc.). While these openings allow me to concentrate more on ideas and less on lines, collectively they do not bring the excitement inherent in the more swashbuckling openings (KG and other forcing 1.e4 lines, Open Sicilian, etc.). Additionally, opponents more easily prepare for my repertoire lines which are not near as rich in plans as QG or Ruy Lopez, or Sicilian Defense.
My suspicion is that there is no solution to this "prisoner's dilemma," but I am open to suggestions that don't involve quitting my job to devote my life to chess or paying $5000 for years of professional lessons.
Throw me a lifeline, someone. I'd be grateful for any (non-flippant) advice.