Thank you! I do see the wisdom of this. Like a lot of chess it seems almost obvious once you understand it even though it was so mysterious previously.

Don't focus exclusively on one thing at a time. It's more of an emphasis. In other words, it's okay to look at endgames, openings, et cetera at the same time as you work on your tactics.

But VGA is exactly correct. You change focus when you realize you are not losing games due to tactics, but due to some other part of the game. You can deceive yourself, but you can't deceive your opponents. So you carefully analyze your games, and let your opponents show you which aspect most needs improvement.

Though some might differ, I have accepted that as a Novice I can make the most (and most important) improvement at this level by focusing on tactical play. I have already recieved suggestions on books and play methods to best improve in this. And I still have a way go with that. I am really enjoying what I am doing. My question is: What level of competence should I acheive before moving on to say, Endgames or Openings?

I am in no way over-estimating my progress. Rather, I'm looking for a performance standard that says, "time to branch out." I realize this is a very general question, but I'm hoping to gain some advise on how to more critically judge my performance so I don't fall victim to self-deception. Any thoughts?