Openings other than e4 and d4?

I've been reading chess books about the middle game and end game. I'd like some help with openings. I don't like e4 and d4 right now, because there are too many variations that my opponent can play. Does anyone have any recommendations?

I know the opening principles, I meant other openings ex: English opening

Other openings (almost) as good as KP and QP:

• English 1. c4
• Réti 1. Nf3
• Van't Kruijs 1. e3
• Benko 1. g3

When you're losing in 8-12 moves.  openings are not your issue.

Possibly of interest:

https://www.chess.com/article/view/has-the-king-s-indian-attack-been-forgotten
The King's Indian Attack is sometimes suggested as a sort of quick-fix opening solution for near-beginners, but notice the reservations that IM Watson had while mentioning the idea.
"... For players with very limited experience, I recommend using openings in which the play can be clarified at an early stage, often with a degree of simplification. To accomplish this safely will take a little study, because you will have to get used to playing wiith open lines for both sides' pieces, but you can't eliminate risk entirely in the opening anyway. ... teachers all over the world suggest that inexperienced players begin with 1 e4. ... You will undoubtedly see the reply 1 ... e5 most often when playing at or near a beginner's level, ... After 2 Nf3, 2 ... Nc6 will occur in the bulk of your games. ... I recommend taking up the classical and instructive move 3 Bc4 at an early stage. Then, against 3 ... Bc5, it's thematic to try to establish the ideal centre by 4 c3 and 5 d4; after that, things can get complicated enough that you need to take a look at some theory and learn the basics; ... Of course, you can also play 1 d4 ... A solid and more-or-less universal set-up is 2 Nf3 and 3 Bf4, followed in most cases by 4 e3, 5 Be2 and 6 0-0. I'd rather see my students fight their way through open positions instead; however, if you're not getting out of the opening alive after 1 e4, this method of playing 1 d4 deserves consideration. ... a commonly suggested 'easy' repertoire for White with 1 Nf3 and the King's indian Attack ... doesn't lead to an open game or one with a clear plan for White. Furthermore, it encourages mechanical play. Similarly, teachers sometimes recommend the Colle System ..., which can also be played too automatically, and usually doesn't lead to an open position. For true beginners, the King's Indian Attack and Colle System have the benefit of offering a safe position that nearly guarantees passage to some kind of playable middlegame; they may be a reasonable alternative if other openings are too intimidating. But having gained even a small amount of experience, you really should switch to more open and less automatic play." - IM John Watson in a section of his 2010 book, Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 4
The KIA is discussed in Winning Chess Openings by GM Yasser Seirawan (1999).
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
For more on the KIA, one could try The King's Indian Attack: Move by Move by Grandmaster Neil McDonald (2014).
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7277.pdf
Perhaps, it would be of interest to look at The Fianchetto Solution by Emmanuel Neiman and Samy Shoker (2016)
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9029.pdf
and Starting Out: King's Indian Attack by John Emms (2005).
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627034051/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen81.pdf

For more help with 1 e4, one could look at:

Discovering Chess Openings

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf

Moret's My-First-Chess-Opening-Repertoire book.

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9033.pdf

https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/vincent-moret/

Opening Repertoire 1 e4

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7819.pdf

First Steps: 1 e4 e5

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7790.pdf

There's nothing you can do to reduce what your opponent can play as black - if you play the English Opening for instance, black has even more options than after e4 or d4. However if you insist, then you can try out the Sokolsky Opening (1.b4) - this will maximise the amount of times the game is in 'your' territory.

As one that has played the Sokolsky as White, even here black has numerous options:

1...a5

1...c6 (known as the outflank attack)

1...d5 with an early ...e6

1...d5 with the Bishop outside the pawn chain

1...e5 and 2...Bxb4 (Exchange Variation)

1...e5 and 2...d6

1...e5 and 2...f6 (white has a gambit line and a positional line available to him here)

1...Nf6 without e5 or d5

1...f5.

So again, it does not get you out of the woods.

Your best bet if you want to reduce theory is to learn the Colle and either the Torre or Trompowski (latter has more theory).

Here is what you need:

1.d4 and now:

A) 1...g6 2.e4 and learn a line against the Modern

B) 1...c5 2.d5 Nf6 3.Nc3!  Without c4, the Benoni is easy for White.  Answer any a6 with a4 and bring the kings knight to c4 via f3 and d2.  It is rare that you will face 1...c5 or 1...Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.d5.

C) 1...Nf6 2.Nf3 and then

C1) 2...g6 3.Bg5 (Torre)

C2) 2...e6 and now you can play whichever you prefer between Torre (3.Bg5) or Colle (3.e3)

C3) 2...d5 3.e3 (see D)

D) 1...d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 and now:

D1) 3...e6 4.Bd3 (Colle)

D2) 3...Bf5 or 3...Bg4 then 4.c4 is necessary, which one of the Two books below covers.

E) 1...f5 2.Bg5

If you read the following two books, you have 95 percent of what you need to know as white.

The Torre Attack Move by Move (Palliser)

The Colle Move by Move (Lakdawala)

This is less material than what white needs to simply beat the Najdorf Sicilian, let alone the rest of 1.e4, if that gives you a comparison!

I agree with @ThrillerFan. There is the added bonus that many lines in these systems are not forcing, so even if you forget the theoretical best move (or haven't gotten around to learning it yet!), you'll still likely get a playable middlegame.

I used to play a Trompowsky/Torre repertoire, and after about a year it was my opinion that there was too little theory, and therefore too few opportunities for black to go seriously wrong!

It seems to me that the Reti Opening (1.Nf3) also limits the number of setups black can choose, but I could be wrong.