Update retrieval_engine.py

retrieval_engine.py

@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ class RetrievalEngine:
                         ),
                     }
                 )
+        return rows
 
     def _topic_bonus(self, desired_topic: str, row_topic: str, intent: str) -> float:
         desired_topic = (desired_topic or "").lower()
@@ -136,7 +137,6 @@ class RetrievalEngine:
         combined_query = clean_math_text(query)
         normalized_topic = (topic or "").strip().lower()
 
-        # Narrow search pool by topic if possible
         candidate_rows = self.rows
         candidate_indices = None
 
@@ -145,9 +145,17 @@ class RetrievalEngine:
                 (i, row) for i, row in enumerate(self.rows)
                 if (row.get("topic") or "").strip().lower() == normalized_topic
             ]
-            if exact_topic_rows:
-                candidate_indices = [i for i, _ in exact_topic_rows]
-                candidate_rows = [row for _, row in exact_topic_rows]
+
+            partial_topic_rows = [
+                (i, row) for i, row in enumerate(self.rows)
+                if normalized_topic in (row.get("topic") or "").strip().lower()
+                or (row.get("topic") or "").strip().lower() in normalized_topic
+            ]
+
+            chosen_rows = exact_topic_rows or partial_topic_rows
+            if chosen_rows:
+                candidate_indices = [i for i, _ in chosen_rows]
+                candidate_rows = [row for _, row in chosen_rows]
 
         scores = []