diff --git a/PYTHON/lichess_bot/engine.py b/PYTHON/lichess_bot/engine.py
index 4008224..859fcbf 100644
--- a/PYTHON/lichess_bot/engine.py
+++ b/PYTHON/lichess_bot/engine.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 """Chess engine wrapper for the C-based random/scoring engine."""
 
+import json
 import os
 import subprocess
 
@@ -129,14 +130,12 @@ class RandomEngine:
         out = self._call_engine(args, timeout=max(0.1, time_budget_sec))
 
         # Try to parse the engine's JSON explanation
-        import json as _json
-
         cand_score = 0.0
         best_move: chess.Move | None = None
         cand_expl = out
         best_expl = out
         try:
-            data = _json.loads(out)
+            data = json.loads(out)
             # candidate score if provided
             analyze = data.get("analyze") or {}
             cs = analyze.get("candidate_score")
@@ -152,8 +151,8 @@ class RandomEngine:
                 except Exception:
                     best_move = None
             # Store compact explanations for debugging
-            cand_expl = _json.dumps(analyze, ensure_ascii=False)
-            best_expl = _json.dumps(
+            cand_expl = json.dumps(analyze, ensure_ascii=False)
+            best_expl = json.dumps(
                 {
                     "chosen_index": data.get("chosen_index"),
                     "chosen_move": data.get("chosen_move"),
diff --git a/PYTHON/lichess_bot/main.py b/PYTHON/lichess_bot/main.py
index 1c3f13b..3904aae 100644
--- a/PYTHON/lichess_bot/main.py
+++ b/PYTHON/lichess_bot/main.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """Main entry point for the Lichess bot."""
 
 import argparse
+import datetime
 import json
 import logging
 import os
@@ -96,8 +97,6 @@ def run_bot(log_level: str = "INFO", decline_correspondence: bool = False) -> No
                                 "createdAtDate"
                             )
                             if created_ms:
-                                import datetime
-
                                 game_date_iso = datetime.datetime.utcfromtimestamp(
                                     int(created_ms) / 1000
                                 ).strftime("%Y.%m.%d")
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 9d9874f..a982801 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -58,7 +58,6 @@ ignore = [
     "FBT003",  # Boolean positional value - common pattern
     "ARG001",  # Unused function argument - often needed for API compatibility
     "ARG002",  # Unused method argument - often needed for API compatibility
-    "PLC0415", # import-outside-top-level - sometimes necessary
     "N816",    # mixed-case-variable-in-global-scope - often constants
     "N806",    # non-lowercase-variable - sometimes intentional
     "N803",    # invalid-argument-name - chess notation uses uppercase
@@ -100,6 +99,7 @@ unfixable = []
 ]
 "**/test_*.py" = [
     "S101",    # Allow assert in tests
+    "PLC0415", # Allow late imports for test isolation
 ]
 "**/conftest.py" = [
     "D100",    # Allow missing module docstring