Bridge expert Hardy dies at 70

Friday, Nov. 15, 2002 | 10:31 a.m.

Max Hardy, a top American bridge player, instructor and author who is credited with revolutionizing the game with his bidding system, died Sunday at his Las Vegas home following a one-year battle with cancer. He was 70.

"He had a great personality," Jeff Neal, director of the Las Vegas Bridge Center and a longtime friend. "If Max was directing a tournament and there was a dispute over an issue like someone bidding out of turn, he not only would make a ruling but also would explain why he made that ruling. The players appreciated him for that. He was highly respected."

Services for the Las Vegas resident of 18 years will be 1 p.m. Saturday at Palm Mortuary, 1600 S. Jones Blvd.

Hardy, who as a professional player was ranked in the top 200 in the nation by the American Contract Bridge League, authored 13 books on the game, including one of the game's bibles, "Two Over One Game Force," first published in 1982 and updated in 1989.

The two over one system consists of a player bidding twice his partner's opening bid in a lower suit. For example, if a player bids one heart, his partner, holding a significant number of clubs, would bid two clubs. The suits are ranked, from highest to lowest, spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs.

Hardy's first book "Five-Card Majors, Western Style," published in 1974, established him as an expert on openings. He went on to become a certified master teacher with the American Bridge Teachers Association, a national tournament director and a diamond life master of the game.

Hardy was born Sept. 30, 1932, in Alva, Okla. His father, Lee Hardy, was a college music professor and his mother, the former Belva Marsh, had a master's degree in voice.

After earning a master's degree in music theory at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Hardy embarked on a career as an opera singer, performing as a baritone soloist throughout Southern California and working as a music instructor. He was a faculty member of Los Angeles Conservatory of Music.

Hardy's music career was briefly interrupted when he served in the Army during the Korean War.

In the early 1960s, Hardy started playing bridge and became so enamored with the game he gave up his music career to pursue the challenges of playing, learning, teaching and writing about bridge.

Hardy won more than 100 regional bridge titles, some of them with his wife of 21 years, professional bridge player Mary Hardy, who also is a local instructor of the game.

"I never saw my husband lose his temper when he was teaching players because he had the ability to adapt to the level of his students and explain things to them in a way that they grasped the concept," Mary Hardy said. "He was an outgoing friendly man."

Hardy's last two books -- "Standard Bridge Bidding for the 21st Century" published in 2000 and "Advanced Bridge Bidding for the 21st Century" published this year -- have been popular sellers on Internet book sites.

Hardy also is survived by a son, Ben Hardy of Vancouver, Wash.

The family suggests donations in Hardy's memory to Nathan Adelson Hospice, 4141 S. Swenson St., Las Vegas, NV 89119.