The author was most likely talking about a FIDE rating. I think you'll find pretty much every on-line site has people rated well above their FIDE ratings. Thi

The author was most likely talking about a FIDE rating. I think you'll find pretty much every on-line site has people rated well above their FIDE ratings. This is partly because people who pay money to join FIDE and pay money to play in tournaments take it much more seriously.