 Quadratic-cost two-player proportional contest

With values $v_i>0$ and effort costs $b_i^2$, the unique pure Nash equilibrium has the efforts displayed above. Interior first-order conditions give $v_i{b}_j/(b_1+b_2{)}^2=2b_i$, hence $b_1/b_2=\sqrt{v_1/v_2}$ and $(b_1+b_2{)}^2=\sqrt{v_1{v}_2}/2$. Against a positive rival effort, each payoff is a strictly concave function, so these conditions identify global best responses. On the axes, lowering a positive uncontested effort or adding a sufficiently small effort at the zero tie rules out equilibrium.