# Beyond the Golden Ratio for Variational Inequality Algorithms

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2212.13955 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.13955/

## Key facts

- Cited by 12 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 19 of its 32 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 28 Dec 2022.

## Builds on (most cited first, 19 of 19)

- [Training GANs with Optimism](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.00141/) (2017)
- [A Unified Analysis of Extra-gradient and Optimistic Gradient Methods for Saddle Point Problems: Proximal Point Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.08511/) (2019)
- [Optimistic mirror descent in saddle-point problems: Going the extra (gradient) mile](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1807.02629/) (2018)
- [Efficient Methods for Structured Nonconvex-Nonconcave Min-Max Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.00364/) (2020)
- [On the convergence of single-call stochastic extra-gradient methods](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.08465/) (2019)
- [Lower complexity bounds of first-order methods for convex-concave bilinear saddle-point problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1808.02901/) (2018)
- [Accelerated Algorithms for Smooth Convex-Concave Minimax Problems with O(1/k2) Rate on Squared Gradient Norm](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.07922/) (2021)
- [Fast Extra Gradient Methods for Smooth Structured Nonconvex-Nonconcave Minimax Problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.02326/) (2021)
- [The limits of min-max optimization algorithms: convergence to spurious non-critical sets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.09065/) (2020)
- [Golden Ratio Algorithms for Variational Inequalities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1803.08832/) (2018)
- [A Forward-Backward Splitting Method for Monotone Inclusions Without Cocoercivity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1808.04162/) (2018)
- [Projected Reflected Gradient Methods for Monotone Variational Inequalities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1502.04968/) (2015)
- [Generalized monotone operators and their averaged resolvents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.09827/) (2019)
- [Solving Nonconvex-Nonconcave Min-Max Problems exhibiting Weak Minty Solutions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.12247/) (2022)
- [ODE Analysis of Stochastic Gradient Methods with Optimism and Anchoring for Minimax Problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.10899/) (2019)
- [Convergence of Proximal Point and Extragradient-Based Methods Beyond Monotonicity: the Case of Negative Comonotonicity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.13831/) (2022)
- [Two steps at a time -- taking GAN training in stride with Tseng's method](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.09033/) (2020)
- [Semi-Anchored Multi-Step Gradient Descent Ascent Method for Structured Nonconvex-Nonconcave Composite Minimax Problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.15042/) (2021)
- [Shadow Douglas--Rachford Splitting for Monotone Inclusions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1903.03393/) (2019)

## Built on by (most cited first, 12 of 12)

- [Adaptive proximal algorithms for convex optimization under local Lipschitz continuity of the gradient](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.04431/) (2023)
- [A simple uniformly optimal method without line search for convex optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.10082/) (2023)
- [Sublinear Convergence Rates of Extragradient-Type Methods: A Survey on Classical and Recent Developments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.17192/) (2023)
- [Expected Variational Inequalities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.18605/) (2025)
- [Nesterov Finds GRAAL: Optimal and Adaptive Gradient Method for Convex Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.09823/) (2025)
- [Solving Stochastic Variational Inequalities without the Bounded Variance Assumption](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.05531/) (2026)
- [Revisiting Inexact Fixed-Point Iterations for Min-Max Problems: Stochasticity and Structured Nonconvexity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.05071/) (2024)
- [Variance-Reduced Fast Krasnoselkii-Mann Methods for Finite-Sum Root-Finding Problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.02413/) (2024)
- [Revisiting Extragradient-Type Methods -- Part 1: Generalizations and Sublinear Convergence Rates](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.16859/) (2024)
- [Adaptive Delayed-Update Cyclic Algorithm for Variational Inequalities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.29128/) (2026)
- [Non-Convex Sparse Reinforcement Learning via Non-Monotone Inclusions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.04990/) (2026)
- [On Same-Sample and Independent-Sample Stochastic Extragradient for Monotone Variational Inequalities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.06182/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We improve the understanding of the textitgolden ratio algorithm, which solves monotone variational inequalities (VI) and convex-concave min-max problems via the distinctive feature of adapting the step sizes to the local Lipschitz constants. Adaptive step sizes not only eliminate the need to pick hyperparameters, but they also remove the necessity of global Lipschitz continuity and can increase from one iteration to the next. We first establish the equivalence of this algorithm with popular VI methods such as reflected gradient, Popov or optimistic gradient descent-ascent in the unconstrained case with constant step sizes. We then move on to the constrained setting and introduce a new analysis that allows to use larger step sizes, to complete the bridge between the golden ratio algorithm and the existing algorithms in the literature. Doing so, we actually eliminate the link between the golden ratio frac1+√52 and the algorithm. Moreover, we improve the adaptive version of the algorithm, first by removing the maximum step size hyperparameter (an artifact from the analysis) to improve the complexity bound, and second by adjusting it to nonmonotone problems with weak Minty solutions, with superior empirical performance.