I fall apart after the opening.

So I've studied and memorized a ton of openings and defenses, but even when I have the correct positions, I completely get destroyed. A lot of people I play bring their Queen out early, and it basically eats up all my pieces. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.

Don't leave stuff unprotected.

No offense, but at your rating, the list of things you're doing wrong is probably pretty long.  

My advice for any sub-1200 player is to forget about openings and concentrate on tactics.  The tactics trainer here on chess.com is good, but you need to do more than the three problems  a day that you can get for free.  Pay up or go make a free account on chesstempo.com

  Instead of looking to complete some pre-conceived position, open your eyes and see what your opponent is doing.  If his queen is dancing around in the open, chances are you can attack it.  Take his queen and you should be able to win the game.

  Seeing those chances and executing them without making huge mistakes is what tactics are all about. 

That's what I'm doing here. 

Thanks! This helps.

Well DUH.  Of course it's more complicated than that.  But OP provided no specific game or information so I can only do so much.  Thinking about which of his pieces are loose is a step in the right direction.  More helpful in fact than anything you have ever posted here.

And, having looked at a couple of your games:

1) try to avoid gaping holes in the pawn structure in front of your king.  Don't castle on the side that's wide open.

2) Pins and forks, pins and forks.  Tactics, tactics, tactics.  You're getting creamed with these.  Try to avoid walking into these traps.  

Relax, don't worry. The opponent bringing queen out too often is a mistake. 

What you want to do is just relax, try to develop your minor pieces (bishops and knights) and 

try to attack the queen as much as you can with this development. Every time before you 

make a move ask yourself which pieces and pawns are unprotected now and after I move. 

Also look out for checks. You can do the same for your opponents pieces and pawns.

I study openings too but mainly because I play higher rated opponents OTB a lot and I want to 

know the ideas of my repertoire. But against equally rated opponents knowing the mainline 

beyond move 3-5 is not required at your (and my) level. 

Just play chess like Josh Waitzkin would say it. Anyway what really helped me is doing the 

courses of the program Chessmaster: Grandmaster. This thought me a lot about 

opening principles and tactics. 

Thanks. This actually helps a lot. 

Thanks. Yeah. I've been working on some tactics puzzles for now.

Having looked at a few games:

Don't move your kingside pawns if you haven't castled yet. 

With the exception of sometimes h6 to break any bishop g5 pins. 

Especially moving your f pawn is risky. King safety is very important because 

you can win all the pieces there are but checkmate ends the game!

I looked at your last game http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=844038300.

In move 6 your opponent blundered his queen and you refused to take it. As long as you miss moves like this regularly, don't work on advanced topics. 

As a first measure, just take your time and examine all checks and captures on every move.

There are solid in here, thank you! Yeah, it's not the first time I've missed free pieces. I tend to rush a lot because of the timer.

Aha! The key word appears! Timer! While you are learning to play chess, DON'T USE A TIMER.

I read none of the above, exexpt OP question. Lets see studying tons and tons of opening lines, how fun is that. Well not for me, I know like 2 opening names. Why not just get a chess book and read it, here is a list for ones that may help you.

Susan Polgar Chess Tactics for Champions.

Logical Chess: Move by Move

Sillams complete endgame course.

There are many more that could help, but those alone should improve your rating. Other then that I recommend studying the endgame and tactics only. 

That is so true. I also lookedup some of your games and you missed a lot of tactics, even a simple grab of material or overlooking a hanged piece. I see that you definetely understand something about development and  you are on your way building up an opening. But no matter how sound your position is, if you got careless and dropped something, your chances of winning the game decreases considerably. You need to have a 'trained eye', hone your tactical ability, and pay attention to your opponent's threats. I am not sure if you are ready to study positional concepts but even if if you are, i still think it is still best for you to have put this aside for a while and instead focuse on the interplay and contact of the pieces.

Thanks a lot everyone. I've been going about the game the wrong way, it seems. I thought having a solid opening was the most important aspect, but I see I should be focusing on tactics first.

I downloaded a good tactics app on my phone and have been doing the daily lessons and chess problems on this site. They're actually quite fun. 

Thank you. I just picked up a book from Bobby Fischer that will hopefully give me some more insight.

is it titled Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess?

Yes. Of course openings are important, but there are so many variations that memorizing them only makes sense in very specific sharp lines (or on a very high level). Respecting some basic principles (explained in every intoductory chess book and also in lessons on this site) will allow you to reach playable middle games, where tactical chances are abundant!

Edit: Avoid short time controls. Short time controls favor experienced players with superior pattern recognition.