AltGDA Achieves Global $O(1/T)$ Ergodic Convergence in Matrix Games
Tianlong Nan, Garud Iyengar, Christian Kroer, Shuvomoy Das Gupta
math.OC
Sep 26, 2026 · v1
cs.GT
TL;DR
The global O(1/T) ergodic convergence result for AltGDA in matrix games is formalized and machine-checked in Lean 4.
Abstract
Alternating gradient descent-ascent (AltGDA) is a simple and practically effective method for solving finite two-player zero-sum matrix games. However, the theory of AltGDA remains limited: existing results either apply only to unconstrained settings or require restrictive assumptions on the equilibrium in constrained settings. We show that AltGDA converges globally at an $O(1/T)$ ergodic rate in every finite two-player zero-sum matrix game. Unlike prior results, our guarantee holds for every initialization and every horizon $T$: the uniform averages of the AltGDA iterates satisfy an $O(1/T)$ duality-gap bound. Our proof is inspired by numerical results obtained using a novel performance estimation programming (PEP) framework for Lyapunov function search over compact convex sets. Additionally, we provide simple counterexamples showing that the last-iterate duality gap of AltGDA does not converge to zero. This justifies why averaging of iterates is indeed necessary to achieve an $O(1/T)$ rate. We have formalized and machine-checked our global ergodic convergence result in Lean 4.
Problem
Alternating gradient descent-ascent (AltGDA) is effective for two-player zero-sum matrix games, but existing convergence theory only covers unconstrained settings or requires restrictive equilibrium assumptions in constrained settings.
Approach
The authors prove AltGDA converges globally at an O(1/T) ergodic rate in every finite two-player zero-sum matrix game, holding for all initializations and horizons via duality-gap bounds on uniform averages of iterates. The proof is guided by a novel performance estimation programming (PEP) framework for Lyapunov function search over compact convex sets. The global ergodic convergence result is formalized and machine-checked in Lean 4.
Results
AltGDA's uniform iterate averages satisfy an O(1/T) duality-gap bound universally. Counterexamples show the last-iterate duality gap does not converge to zero, demonstrating that averaging is necessary.