The best computers now consistently beat the best humans but "solved" has a precise definition in game theory and it isn't completely solved under that definition[0]. With regards to your question, I can't say for sure but my impression is that interest in chess has declined a lot.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solving_chess

That's an understatement.

The best computer algos beat humans at chess by a huge margin, to the point a regular PC beats Carlsen (and I heard even the best smartphone apps beat him).

Carlsen's ELO rating = 2853

Top chess program ELO rating = 3381

The number of DIFFERENT programs stronger than Carlsen = 59

http://www.computerchess.org.uk/ccrl/4040/

https://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml?list=men

> my impression is that interest in chess has declined a lot.

I don't think it has. Much like horseback riding has not made olympic races obsolete, human competition remained fascinating. I for one very much followed the rise of Magnus Carlsen.

That was a poorly chosen example since interest in horseback riding has declined a lot, at least in relative terms, compared to the pre car days. Today, auto racing as a competitive sport is probably more popular too.

Personally, the fact that computers are better at chess than humans makes me less interested in the game so I'm a bit biased.

The argument is that the presence of horseback riding (and now race car driving) doesn't necessarily diminish the popularity of foot races. Not that horse racing is less popular now (though that my be, simply because it's no longer anyone's preferred method of transportation...)

Ah, I missed that. It's hard to say with certainty whether horseback riding diminished the popularity of foot races since it happened such a long time ago and at a time where probably neither was considered a sport or entertainment.

I do think that technological advances in general affect the appeal of certain games and sports by rendering them less mysterious or by bringing them further from a real world activity/situation.

Of course, I'm talking about relative, not absolute, popularity. Chess and horseback riding will remain popular for a long, long time.

>With regards to your question, I can't say for sure but my impression is that interest in chess has declined a lot.

It hasn't, in the slightest. The fact that computers playing at full strength can beat top humans makes no difference in the enjoyability of the game for people.

They kept playing chess with each other.

and chess was not "solved"

Solving chess would mean having the perfect move as a response to every move. In that sense, chess is far from being solved.

Computer aided chess became a game in and of itself