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There's no previous move, the position is blatantly illegal.

It's very easy to accidentally do this in correspondence; I've done it before on another account. Just learn from it and try not to do it again, and you'll be fine.

1. f3 e5 2. g4 Qh4# draw agreed

Just scroll to a position in the database, and go through 1000-2000 of the highest rated games fairly quickly. It'll show you the typical plans, what works and what doesn't.

No.

You played on so long while your opponent had no pieces that every move he played from then on out was "accurate" by force.

Nobody's gonna be like, "Oh yeah, Unthinkabl3, the one who missed that Greek gift in puzzle #0038979".

$200/hr or it's not happening, buddy.

Books probably aren't quite needed yet at the 1200 level, to be honest. If you do get a book, focus on game collections and tactics exercises. The Chernev book that you already have is a good one for …

2.a3 is playable, but is often played with the intention of b2-b4, generally sacrificing a pawn(i.e, 1. e4 c5 2. a3 Nc6 3.b4!? cxb4 4.axb4 Nxb4 5.d4 when white actually has plenty of compensation).